![Szolnok1617](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Szolnok1617.jpg)
Szolnok Castle was an important military fort for many centuries due to its prime location at the confluence of the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
and
Zagyva
The Zagyva is a river in Hungary. Its length is 179 km, and drains an area of about 5,677 km2. The source is near Salgótarján in Nógrád county. It flows through the towns of Bátonyterenye, Pásztó, Hatvan and Jászberény and flows ...
rivers, in the middle of the
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
. The area was the crossroads of several trade routes, including salt and lumber, as well as being a key route for armies passing between
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
and
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
. Against the advancing Ottoman forces in the 16th century,
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
and
Eger
Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...
were the only two forts protecting the heart of Hungary and Upper Hungary.
Beginning in the time of the
Árpád dynasty
The Árpád dynasty, consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingd ...
(9th to 13th centuries) there was an
earthwork fort at
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
. After the 1526
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...
this was expanded to a
Pfostenschlitzmauer
A ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' (German for "post-slot wall") is the name for defensive walls protecting Iron Age hill forts and '' oppida'' in Central Europe, especially in Bavaria and the Czech Republic. They are characterized by vertical wooden pos ...
, and later a stone fortress in the face of Szolnok's key position against the Ottomans. In the 17th century the fort continued to be expanded and improved, but after the
Rákóczi Uprising
The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...
the fort fell into disuse. It was dismantled and the stones were used in several buildings in Szolnok. Today only traces of the fort remain.
Construction of the castle
The decision to upgrade the palisade fort to one of stone was based on Szolnok's geographical importance, and its place in the border castle system. After the Ottoman armies captured
Temesvár and occupied the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
-
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
-
Mureş area, only two forces of any significance stood between them and the rest of Hungary: Szolnok, and Eger to the north. Beginning in June 1552, Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Viennese agents all began reporting that the Ottoman army was on the move out of Temesvár towards Szolnok and Eger. The task of capturing the two was given to Ali Pasha of Buda. After the fall of other minor fortifications on the
Puszta
The Hungarian Puszta () is a temperate grassland biome of the Alföld or Great Hungarian Plain. It is an exclave of the Eurasian Steppe, and lies mainly around the River Tisza in the eastern part of Hungary, as well as in the western part of t ...
, Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
ordered Pashas Ahmed, Ali, and Mohamed to lead their armies against the castles.
It was in light of this Turkish danger that in 1550-51
Ferdinand I ordered the Szolnok earthworks to be improved with a new town wall (partially planned by
István Dobó
Baron István Dobó de Ruszka (c. 1502 - Szerednye (today, Середнє (Szerednye / Serednie, Ukraine), mid-June 1572) was a Hungarian soldier, best known as the successful defender of Eger against the Ottomans in 1552. Dobó was a member o ...
), the castle to be fortified, and Lőrinc Nyáry put in command. General Nicolaus Salm planned the works and supervised the workforce, which was made up mostly of local peasants and some soldiers under orders. Although they were using some stone, for the most part the walls were built up as clay packed between upright beams. In the etchings a typical four-sided fort with a spacious inner courtyard can be seen, protected by rounded cannon towers at each corner and a wide surrounding moat. The final completion of the bastions was possible only after the Turks left, many years later.
Further works began in summer of 1552 and progressed rapidly. In order to surround the castle, a new branch of the
Zagyva
The Zagyva is a river in Hungary. Its length is 179 km, and drains an area of about 5,677 km2. The source is near Salgótarján in Nógrád county. It flows through the towns of Bátonyterenye, Pásztó, Hatvan and Jászberény and flows ...
river was dug. This new branch is the one that remains today, at the point where the Zagyva flows into the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
river. The original course of the Zagyva has today been filled in, but a small part of it remains as the lake in front of the Szolnok MÁV Hospital.
Ottoman siege of 1552
Under the command of Lőrinc Nyáry the fort contained 1400 soldiers, mostly Spanish, German, Czech, with a small number of Hungarians. The castle was armed with 24 cannons, 3000 muskets, 800 weights of gunpowder, and was well-stocked with food and supplies.
On September 2, 1552, Pasha Ahmed Ali besieged the castle with his army of 40,000. Although it was the German mercenaries who first entertained thoughts of escape, it was the Hungarian boatmen who deserted first. On the night of September 3rd the Hungarian and Spanish horsemen swam across the Tisza, then the boatmen returned for the foot soldiers. On the night of September 4th the mercenaries deserted, leaving the castle to its fate. After they departed the front gate was left open until morning, leading to the easy overpowering and capture of Lőrinc Nyáry and the fifty remaining brave men.
István Mekcsey, one of the defenders of the
Siege of Eger, wrote the following to his sister four days before the Turkish advance forces reached Eger: "I can't write more... but to say that every day now we feel we are awaiting a great punishment since the traitors gave up Szolnok."
Ahmed and Mohamed left a garrison of 2000 soldiers in Szolnok while they marched against Eger. The castle remained in Turkish hands until 1685.
Ottoman age
The Ottoman occupation of Szolnok lasted from 1552 to 1685. In 1553 they established the
sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησι ...
of Szolnok, and in the following years built a mosque, baths, and a minaret; during the course of later battles these were destroyed, mostly deliberately. Of the minaret the base remained, and this was made into a stylized fountain which remains today. In 1562 they constructed the first permanent bridge spanning the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
. The remains of the so-called Szolnok Turkish Bridge ''(
Hungarian: szolnoki török kori híd)'' again came to light in August 2003 after a summer of drought. The only Turkish
codex
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
made in Hungary was copied in Szolnok; it describes the campaigns of Suleiman in Hungary. Pottery and tools from the Turkish era can be seen today in Szolnok's Damjanich János Museum.
After the Ottoman occupation
In 1685 Szolnok was liberated from the Ottomans by the Habsburg armies under the control of Generals
Sigbert Heister
Sigbert Graf Heister ( Kirchberg an der Raab, 1 January 1646 – Kirchberg an der Raab in Steiermark, 22 February 1718) was an Imperial Field marshal.
His father was Gottfried Heister (1609–1679), vice president of the Hofkriegsrat.
Sigb ...
and Mercz; during the liberation both the city and the castle were significantly damaged. Due to the castle's strategic importance it was rebuilt by commander
Antonio Caraffa
Antonio von Caraffa (1646 – 6 March 1693) was a General Commissary (Generalkriegskommissär) of the Imperial-Habsburg Army—the highest rank in the Austrian military hierarchy at the time. He also held various other high-ranking offices, in ...
. At this time the remaining wooden parts of the castle were finished with stone, and other changes were made to the facade. In a survey sketch from the Vienna War Archives ''(Kriegsarchiv des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs)'', it can be seen that by 1778 the once-rounded towers had been replaced with polygonal towers.
It is also worth noting that by this time the Szolnok Turkish Bridge was destroyed, so a new bridge was made across the Tisza, but connecting the two banks at the town itself, which meant the other side of the Zagyva, which in essence was the model for construction of all later bridges. At this time the walls around the city, the wooden-spined towers and the most of the city wall was destroyed, and the city's former moat filled in. The former moat is remembered today in the "Tófenék utca" ("Bottom-of-the-Lake Street") street name, which can be found in the center of Szolnok, where the northwest part of the moat used to lie.
In 1697
Imre Thököly
Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry. ...
burned down the castle. The events of the
Rákóczi Uprising
The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...
in 1703, and 1706 reached Szolnok and the city was again razed to the ground. In 1706 Ferenc Deák, one of
Rákóczi's leaders, burned the castle so that Imperial forces couldn't use it, so Imperial General Rabutin had the stones all taken away. In 1710 forces loyal to Rákóczi took over the castle, but on October 10 they abandoned it to the advancing army of Imperial General Jacob Joseph Cusani. After the Uprising, the castle finally fell to pieces and the stones were carted away.
The planned demolition of the castle took place between 1799 and 1811.
Related pages
*
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
*
Siege of Eger
*
Ottoman wars in Europe
A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...
*
Ottoman–Habsburg wars
The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th through the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Habsburg Spai ...
Sources
Sources in Hungarian:
*
*{{cite book, author=Kardos Tamás, author2=Varga Ferenc , title=Szolnoki séták, location=Szolnok, year=1990, language=Hungarian, English, German, Russian
Former castles in Hungary
Forts in Hungary
Conflicts in 1552
Battles of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars
Buildings and structures in Szolnok
16th century in Hungary
1552 in the Ottoman Empire
1552 in the Habsburg monarchy