Eger Castle (Egri var)

The Castle of Eger with the István Dobó Caste Museum inside is amongst the most visited and most well-known monuments in Hungary. Its popularity can be attributed to the fact that this former border castle is one of the most complete in Hungary.

Walk along walls with arrow slits and those bastions which have born witness to many a battle to reach the most important and oldest part of the fortress, the inner castle. Almost every bit of the inner castle area has its own story. Parts of the original castle walls are still standing and cannons are positioned on the cannon hill from where there is a fantastic panorama of the city.

Exhibitions are arranged in the cellars, just as in the Dobó Bastion and several other places. The underground corridor system and the arrow headed (or Italian) bastions can be visited, as can the excavated remains of the first cathedral of Eger.

The two-storey Bishop's Palace (püspöki palota) dominates the courtyard. The oldest building of Eger, it was built in the years before 1475 and was later extended and renovated. However, its most beautiful part, the Gothic arcades have remained in their original splendour.

The building of the castle was started after the Mongol invasion and, although it kept a strategic role in more recent centuries, it won its true fame in 1552 when 2,000 heroic people under the lead of captain István Dobó fought off the besieging Turkish army of many tens of thousands. The castle and its valiant soldiers became legendary when Géza Gárdonyi wrote his novel titled 'Eclipse of the Crescent Moon' ('Egri csillagok') in the 20th century. This book was voted the most popular novel in a Hungarian TV show in 2006. The writer was buried in the castle.