Réka Castle (); is a ruined castle in

Baranya county Baranya (, ; German language, German:Croatian language, Croatian:'' Baranjska županija'') is a Counties of Hungary, county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya (region), B ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. It has been identified as the possible place of refuge for members of the royal family of England in the mid 11th century. The ruins of Réka Castle are near

Mecseknádasd Mecseknádasd (; ) is a town in Baranya county, Hungary. Until the end of World War II, the inhabitants were Danube Swabians. Most of the former German population were expelled to Germany and Austria in 1945–1948, following the Potsdam Agreemen ...

, on a hilltop marked with a cross, towards the opening to Old Mine's Valley (Óbányai-völgy).

History

According to local folklore, Prince

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, son of

Edmund Ironside Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marre ...

, King of England, arrived in Hungary during the reign of

St Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

. Edward was given an estate called ''Terra Britanorum de Nadasd'', which contained Réka Castle. His children, born in Hungary, were

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

Edgar the Ætheling Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, howeve ...

and

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...

. A deed of gift issued by Andrew II in 1235 gave land bordering this territory to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs The Diocese of Pécs ( Hungarian: ''Pécsi Egyházmegye'', ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in Hungary. The Cathedral of Pécs is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Secular offices connected to the bishopric The Bishops ...

Construction

According to experts, the approximately 200-metre long and 36-metre wide courtyard was surrounded by a 3-metre thick stone wall. The round tower foundations discovered in the excavations are probably remnants of the guards' posts. The central section of the courtyard was enclosed by a row of buildings behind which there was a 10-metre-wide ditch along the side of the outer castle. This row was presumably single-storey with a shingled roof. The remnants of a multi-storey tower were uncovered on the side of the outer castle. The precise time of its construction is still under debate. It is thought to be of Illyrian or Celtic origins or rooted in the later 9th-century Frankish architecture. The first charter referring to the castle dates from 1309. The circumstances of its destruction are unknown (The castle was possibly burnt down in the Turkish age (16th-17th century)). The locals took what was left of it to build homes and mills.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Réka Castle 11th century in Hungary History of Baranya (region) Baranya (region) Ruined castles in Hungary