Drégely Castle
Encyclopedia
Drégely Castle is a 13th century hilltop castle
in Nógrád County, Hungary
. It is in ruins, but being restored.
mountains in Hungary
. The area is in the administrative territory of Drégelypalánk
in Nógrád County. But it is easier to reach the castle from Nagyoroszi
on surfaced road. The castle district is in the area of the Danube-Ipoly National Park.
branch of the Hunt-Poznan family in the second half of the 13th century, during the Árpád dynasty
, by order of Béla IV
. It was first mentioned as in a charter of 1285 as the possession of Demeter of the Hunt-Poznan family. The proprietors had to surrender to Máté Csák in 1311. After the death of this oligarch in 1321 the castle was overcome by the army of Charles I of Hungary
. At that time Drégely Castle served as the county dungeon and held the archives of Hont County.
In 1390 King Sigismund
exchanged the castle with the Tary family for lands in Somogy county. Later the King reacquired Drégely because of the despotic measures of the Tary family and their castellan.
In 1438 Drégely was gained by the Archbishop of Esztergom
. The high priest rebuilt the castle to be his hunting seat.
Drégely came under military control again after the fall of Buda
in 1541. It became part of the border castle system designed to repel invaders of the Ottoman Empire
. Archbishop Pál Várday spent much money to strengthen the castle. In 1543 Esztergom
, the centre of the archdiocese, fell. Next year the castles of Vác
and Nógrád
fell too. Drégely became part of the first line of defence for the kingdom. In 1544 Várday appointed György Szondy
to be castellan of the castle and the governor of the Drégely estate. Szondy tried to fortify the small fortress against Turkish invaders. Várday died in 1549, and the local guards were no longer paid regularly. In the same year lightning struck the castle, but it hardly damaged the walls or the gunpowder depot.
In 1552 Hadim Ali Pasha
of Buda
laid siege to the castle at Veszprém
and captured it on 2 June. The Turkish army
turned its attention to the castles of Hont and Nógrád counties. The army of Ali Pasha – about 10,000 to 12,000 strong – got below Drégely Castle on the morning of 6 July. The defenders of the castle consisted of 120 men hired by King Ferdinand
and 26 warriors sent by the royal mining town of Banská Štiavnica
(then or ). Ali Pasha immediately called upon Szondy to surrender. After the Hungarian
refusal Ali the castle's outer wooden wall be set on fire. Because of the first combat the defenders withdrew into the inner stone castle. At the following dawn, Turkish engineering corps built a counterfort on a place called ("Castle Crag") where Turkish artillery started a cannonade against the castle gate using three cannon and six howitzers. The cannon fire continued for two days.
On 9 July 1552 the high castle gate and its tower collapsed. That was when Ali Pasha sent the priest Márton as envoy to persuade Szondy to surrender. Szondy refused again, but he sent his two pageboys accompanied by two noble Turkish captives to Ali. They brought the message that the castle would be defended until the last breath. Szondy asked Ali to educate the two boys in exchange for the release of the two Turkish prisoners, and for himself to be buried with full honours. As reply to Szondy's repeated refusal Turkish troops started a decisive attack on the castle. Szondy was shot in his knee and the subsequent bullet killed him. The defenders were killed until the last man. Drégeéy fell, but Ali paid tribute to the brave dead castellan.
During the siege of Drégely the royal army of about 8,000 camped at Levice
(then ), but the commander of the army, Erasmus Teuffel, did not take any action to help the besieged castle. The fall of Drégely started a chain of defeats of castles of Hont and Nógrád counties. Ottoman troops conquered nine-tenths of the castles in the two counties in short order, because most of the defenders of the neighbouring castles deserted. At the end of the July there was an enormous gap in the Hungarian border castle system. The royal army belatedly tried to stop the Turkish troops at Plášťovce
(then ) but in a two-days battle they were utterly routed, and 4,000 German
and Italian warriors were deported to Istanbul
.
The completely ruined stone castle of Drégely was not renewed. Turkish troops used its remnants as a watch-post for a while, then in 1575 built a new earth fortress in near village of Palánk
. The castle hill returned to forest. The building lines of the former castle were disappearing.
(MÁV) Line 75 (Vác
–Diósjenő
–Drégelypalánk
–Balassagyarmat
) stops at Drégelyvár, between Nagyoroszi
and Drégelypalánk
. Running in the Börzsöny
valley, This is one of the most scenic railway lines in Hungary.
Hilltop castle
A hilltop castle is a type of hill castle that was built on the summit of a hill or mountain. The chief advantage of such a strategically selected site was its inaccessibility. The steep flanks of the hill made assaults on the castle difficult or, depending on the terrain, even impossible...
in Nógrád County, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. It is in ruins, but being restored.
Geography
The ruin of Drégely Castle sits on a 440 metres (1,443.6 ft) high peak of the BörzsönyBörzsöny
Börzsöny is a mountain range in Northern Hungary. Its tallest peak is the Csóványos with 938 metres.It is the westernmost member of the North Hungarian Mountains, which in turn are part of the Inner Western Carpathians. The varied landscape offers good hiking opportunities. A large part of the...
mountains in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. The area is in the administrative territory of Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary. It was first recorded in 1274 and was created as a merger of two settlements named Drégely and Palánk...
in Nógrád County. But it is easier to reach the castle from Nagyoroszi
Nagyoroszi
- External links :*...
on surfaced road. The castle district is in the area of the Danube-Ipoly National Park.
History
The small castle was probably built by the BozókBzovík
Bzovík is a village and municipality in the Krupina District of the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.-History:In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1135 when the noble Lampert of Hunt-Poznan founded a Cistercian abbey here. In 1433 Bzovík was destroyed by Hussites and in...
branch of the Hunt-Poznan family in the second half of the 13th century, during the Árpád dynasty
Árpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
, by order of Béla IV
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
. It was first mentioned as in a charter of 1285 as the possession of Demeter of the Hunt-Poznan family. The proprietors had to surrender to Máté Csák in 1311. After the death of this oligarch in 1321 the castle was overcome by the army of Charles I of Hungary
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
. At that time Drégely Castle served as the county dungeon and held the archives of Hont County.
In 1390 King Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
exchanged the castle with the Tary family for lands in Somogy county. Later the King reacquired Drégely because of the despotic measures of the Tary family and their castellan.
In 1438 Drégely was gained by the Archbishop of Esztergom
Archdiocese of Esztergom
The archbishopric of Esztergom was a historical diocese created in 1000 under Stephen I of Hungary largely on the territory of Upper Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon, its territory was reduced to its present-day extent and it became the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest on 31 May 1993...
. The high priest rebuilt the castle to be his hunting seat.
Drégely came under military control again after the fall of Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
in 1541. It became part of the border castle system designed to repel invaders of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Archbishop Pál Várday spent much money to strengthen the castle. In 1543 Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, the centre of the archdiocese, fell. Next year the castles of Vác
Vác
Vác is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spellings of the name are Vacz and Vacs.-Location:...
and Nógrád
Nógrád
Nógrád is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary.- External links :*...
fell too. Drégely became part of the first line of defence for the kingdom. In 1544 Várday appointed György Szondy
György Szondy
György Szondy was a Hungarian soldier and the captain of Drégely Castle. He was a respected soldier, even by his Turkish foes, whose recognition can be seen by his burial by Hadim Ali Pasha with full military honours.-Family:Szondy's origin is obscure...
to be castellan of the castle and the governor of the Drégely estate. Szondy tried to fortify the small fortress against Turkish invaders. Várday died in 1549, and the local guards were no longer paid regularly. In the same year lightning struck the castle, but it hardly damaged the walls or the gunpowder depot.
In 1552 Hadim Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
of Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
laid siege to the castle at Veszprém
Veszprém
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...
and captured it on 2 June. The Turkish army
Military of the Ottoman Empire
The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years between 1300 and 1453 , the classical period covers the years between 1451 and 1606 , the reformation period covers the years between 1606 and 1826 ,...
turned its attention to the castles of Hont and Nógrád counties. The army of Ali Pasha – about 10,000 to 12,000 strong – got below Drégely Castle on the morning of 6 July. The defenders of the castle consisted of 120 men hired by King Ferdinand
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and 26 warriors sent by the royal mining town of Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of more than 10,000. It is a completely preserved medieval town...
(then or ). Ali Pasha immediately called upon Szondy to surrender. After the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
refusal Ali the castle's outer wooden wall be set on fire. Because of the first combat the defenders withdrew into the inner stone castle. At the following dawn, Turkish engineering corps built a counterfort on a place called ("Castle Crag") where Turkish artillery started a cannonade against the castle gate using three cannon and six howitzers. The cannon fire continued for two days.
On 9 July 1552 the high castle gate and its tower collapsed. That was when Ali Pasha sent the priest Márton as envoy to persuade Szondy to surrender. Szondy refused again, but he sent his two pageboys accompanied by two noble Turkish captives to Ali. They brought the message that the castle would be defended until the last breath. Szondy asked Ali to educate the two boys in exchange for the release of the two Turkish prisoners, and for himself to be buried with full honours. As reply to Szondy's repeated refusal Turkish troops started a decisive attack on the castle. Szondy was shot in his knee and the subsequent bullet killed him. The defenders were killed until the last man. Drégeéy fell, but Ali paid tribute to the brave dead castellan.
During the siege of Drégely the royal army of about 8,000 camped at Levice
Levice
Levice is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Slavic name of the town was Leva, which means "the Left One"....
(then ), but the commander of the army, Erasmus Teuffel, did not take any action to help the besieged castle. The fall of Drégely started a chain of defeats of castles of Hont and Nógrád counties. Ottoman troops conquered nine-tenths of the castles in the two counties in short order, because most of the defenders of the neighbouring castles deserted. At the end of the July there was an enormous gap in the Hungarian border castle system. The royal army belatedly tried to stop the Turkish troops at Plášťovce
Pláštovce
Plášťovce is a village and municipality in the Levice District in the Nitra Region of Slovakia.-Geography:The village lies at altitude of 155 metres and covers an area of 50,509 km²...
(then ) but in a two-days battle they were utterly routed, and 4,000 German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Italian warriors were deported to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
The completely ruined stone castle of Drégely was not renewed. Turkish troops used its remnants as a watch-post for a while, then in 1575 built a new earth fortress in near village of Palánk
Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary. It was first recorded in 1274 and was created as a merger of two settlements named Drégely and Palánk...
. The castle hill returned to forest. The building lines of the former castle were disappearing.
Today
The ruins of the castle were saved by enthusiasts, in particular the forester Károly Teszári. The sponsor of the project is the Drégelyvár Fund, which was established in 1991. Until 2008 1083 cubic metres (38,245.8 cu ft) of walls were pulled up.How to get there
The Hungarian State RailwaysHungarian State Railways
Hungarian State Railways is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV Start Zrt" and "MÁV Cargo Zrt" ....
(MÁV) Line 75 (Vác
Vác
Vác is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spellings of the name are Vacz and Vacs.-Location:...
–Diósjenő
Diósjeno
Diósjenő is a village in Nógrád county, Hungary. It is surrounded by hills and beautiful landscape.-History:The village was first mentioned in 1282. Its name comes from Jenő, the name of one of the seven tribes conquering present-day Hungary, while the word "diós" refers to walnut trees. The...
–Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary. It was first recorded in 1274 and was created as a merger of two settlements named Drégely and Palánk...
–Balassagyarmat
Balassagyarmat
Balassagyarmat is a town in northern Hungary. It was the seat of the Nógrád comitatus.- History :The town's coat-of-arms bears the Latin inscription "Civitas Fortissima" , because in January 1919 Czechoslovak troops crossed the demarcation line delineated in December 1918 in preparation for the...
) stops at Drégelyvár, between Nagyoroszi
Nagyoroszi
- External links :*...
and Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk
Drégelypalánk is a village in Nógrád County, Hungary. It was first recorded in 1274 and was created as a merger of two settlements named Drégely and Palánk...
. Running in the Börzsöny
Börzsöny
Börzsöny is a mountain range in Northern Hungary. Its tallest peak is the Csóványos with 938 metres.It is the westernmost member of the North Hungarian Mountains, which in turn are part of the Inner Western Carpathians. The varied landscape offers good hiking opportunities. A large part of the...
valley, This is one of the most scenic railway lines in Hungary.