The waxworks museum of the Castle of Diósgyőr is a waxworks museum, one of the largest ones in Central Europe. It is situated in the northeastern tower of the

Castle of Diósgyőr The Castle of Diósgyőr is a medieval castle in the historical town of Diósgyőr which is now part of the Northern Hungarian city Miskolc. The first Castle of Diósgyőr was built probably in the 12th century and was destroyed during the Mo ...

, in

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

Diósgyőr Diósgyőr (Hungarian: �dioːʒɟøːr is a historical town in Hungary, today it is a part of Miskolc. The medieval castle in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular tourist attraction. The ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...

. Most of the wax figures can be seen in the rondella of the tower, in six scenes: # ''Everyday life in mediaeval Diósgyőr'' with ten wax figures. # ''Knights' tournament'' with ten wax figures. # ''Mediaeval fair'' with fourteen wax figures. # ''George Magyar (Georgius Ungarus) in hell:'' According to a legend well known in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

(but generally unknown today and usually told by a tourist guide in the wax museum), George was a knight in the army of

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ( ...

. During a campaign in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

he massacred innocent civilians, and as a penitence he was sent on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the

St Patrick's Purgatory St Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient pilgrimage site on Station Island in Lough Derg (Donegal), Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed Saint Patrick a cave, sometime ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, which was believed to be the entrance to

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. He survived it, and because of this later he was thought to be a holy man. Among the fourteen wax figures we can see him with the priests, the massacred people and the demons of his visions. # ''King Louis grants a coat of arms to Kassa:'' Kassa (today:

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

by Louis the Great in 1369. It was the first time in history that a city got a coat of arms. The ten wax figures portray the king, his queen, the envoy from Košice (Kassa) and several courtiers (See:

Coat of arms of Košice Košice (today in Slovakia; previously part of the Kingdom of Hungary, Kassa in Hungarian, Cassovia in Latin) was the first town in Europe to be granted its own coat of arms. It was granted by King Louis I the Great at the Castle of Diósgyőr nea ...

). # ''The court of Louis the Great:'' The wax figure of Louis the Great sits enthroned among six courtiers.
Besides the waxworks museum in the rondella, there is a smaller waxworks scene on the 2nd floor of the northeastern tower, commemorating the peace treaty of Turin (1381). (The peace negotiations were held in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, but the king couldn't travel because of his severe illness – he was already suffering from

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

–, so he signed the documents in this room.) The treaty compelled the city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

to pay a yearly tribute of 7000 golden

Forints The forint ( sign Ft; code HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II sta ...

to the king. (At that time the royal treasury had a yearly income of 15.000 Fts.) Venice also had to raise the

Angevin Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: *County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France **Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou **Counts and Dukes of Anjou * House of Ingelger, a Frank ...

flag on St. Mark's Square on holy days. (The peace treaty expired with the death of King Louis one year later.) The eight wax figures portray the king with courtiers and the Venetian envoy. On the first floor of the tower a museum commemorates the Pauline monastery of Diósgyőr. It features the life-size wax figure of a Pauline

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

References

External links

Official site of the castle

"Castle of Queens" - Diósgyőr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waxworks museum of the Castle of Diosgyor Museums in Miskolc Wax museums