The history of the castle
The Castle of Füzér located in a wonderful natural environment is one of those few private landlord castles in the country, which is most likely to have been there before the Tatar invasion. The Castle Hill of Füzér is one of the seven natural wonders of Hungary, located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, on a steep side volcanic cone in the easternmost part of the Zemplén Mountains. The castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century, making it one of Hungary’s earliest stone castles.
It underwent a major renovation between 2014 and 2016, during which the so-called Lower Castle was built, the Chapel of the Upper Castle, the Palace Wing and the Lower Bastion were renewed.
The first sources
The name of the castle is first mentioned in a document dated 1264, which is a papal admonition. In a later charter, dated exactly in 1270, it is referred that in the first half of the 13th century the owner of the castle was a certain Master Andronicus (blind) of Kompolt, from whom it was bought by King Andrew.
The fact that the castle could have existed even before the Tatar invasion is verified by the earliest coin ever found there, a Friesach denar minted between 1200-1246 by Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg. According to the surviving scriptures, Béla IV gave Füzér and the manor belonging to it to his daughter, Princess Anna of Halics, from whom her brother, Prince Stephen (Stephen V) took it by force.
Depiction of András II in the Illuminated Chronicle, source: Wikipedia
The castle as a donation
King Vladislaus’ deed of gift to Palatine Imre Perényi
Füzér reappeared during the period of Charles Anjou as a royal castle in 1320. Several years later, Lesták Ilosvai pawned it for 3000 golden florins, then King Sigismund of Luxembourg gave the castle as a new donation in 1389 and its accessories (the castle manor and settlements) to the sons of Peter Perényi: Miklós, János and Imre. The Perényis carried out significant constructions in Füzér in the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the Matthias era, the sons of the master treasurer János Perényi: István, Miklós and Péter owned their possession undivided, including Füzér. On February 22, 1506, King Vladislaus II granted Palatine Imre Perényi, the heir bailiff of Abaúj county the Castle of Füzér and its accessories as a new donation. After the death of Palatine Imre Perényi, his sons Péter and Ferenc signed an agreement of mutual inheritance with István Báthory and András Báthory.
The Holy Crown of Hungary in Füzér
After the coronation of János Szapolyai in 1526, Péter Perényi as crown guard did not take the crown to its usual place of keeping (Visegrád), but — quoting György Szerémi’s words — “ran to Füzérvár and placed the crown there into safe keeping.”
The crown was in Füzér for almost a year. That is why in 1529 the people of Szapolyai burned the stables under the castle (according to them they could not take the castle). Perényi decided to fortify his castles (Patak and Füzér) in 1533. According to sources, the works were directed by an Italian master builder, Alessandro Vedani.
In the time of Gábor Perényi, several villages belonging to the castle were pledged.
In 1562, a master from Kassa (Košice) named Jakab worked on the construction of the castle. It must have been then when the dwelling wings were transformed into a Renaissance style.
The Holy Crown of Hungary in Füzér in 2016
The 16th-17th Century Citadel
A XVI-XVII. századi Fellegvár
A XVI-XVII. századi Fellegvár
A year after the death of Gábor Perényi in 1567, Miklós Báthory and György of Ecsed obtained a deed of gift for 55000 golden florins for the Castle of Füzér and its manor.
György Báthory soon passed away, so his share estate in Füzér was inherited by his son István. However, Miklós’s part fell into István’s hands only after his death in 1584. Judge Royal István Báthory died in 1605 also without a successor. In his will he left Füzér to his sister, the widow of Ferenc Nádasdy, Erzsébet Báthory and her children. Through Erzsébet, it was passed onto the Nádasdy family in 1603.
Erzsébet Báthory left his property to his three children: Anna Nádasdy (Mrs. Miklós Zrínyi), Katalin (Mrs. Homonnai Drugeth György) and Pál.
On June 6, 1614, a dividing took place, where Füzér fell into the hands of Pál Nádasdy who died in 1633. His heirs in Füzér were his children, Ferenc and Anna Mária. Around 1645, there was a disagreement between the Slanacians and the folks of Füzér over where some mountains belonged to.
The case escalated to the fact that the owner of the castle of Szalánc, Mrs. Zsigmond Forgách, set out with an armed army against Füzér. His troops were already at the foot of the mountain, but in the end there was no battle, because the castellan of Füzér reconciled Mrs. Forgách at the last minute.
In 1654, Ferenc Nádasdy pledged the Castle of Füzér and its remaining manor to Imre Mosdóssy, chamber clerk and his wife.
Füzér remained in the possession of Mosdóssy and then in that of his widow until 1660. Five years later, Mrs. Zsigmond Forgách took possession of it. In 1668, Ferenc Nádasdy leased the castle and the four remaining villages from the manor to Ferenc Bónis for 3000 florins a year.
Portrait of Erzsébet Báthory,
source: Wikipedia
Final Days of the Castle
Life in the Renaissance Castle
In connection with the Wesselényi conspiracy, the seizure of the goods of Füzér took place on 22 June 1670. Since 1675, complaints about “rebels” constantly harassing those living in Füzér have multiplied. Strasoldo did not purge them from the countryside but rather “ruined” the castle for being a potential source of danger. Precisely for this reason, in 1676, it was burned and abandoned by the imperial military.
From 1686, Emperor Leopold I donated the estate together with the castle building to the Károlyi family, who retained ownership until the nationalization.
In addition to burning the castle, there are several events on record in the history of the village, which led to the final destruction of several similar settlements in Hungary:
- the extinction of the settlement after Rákóczi’s War of Independence in 1711,
- the loss of a significant part of the communal border as a result of the Trianon dictate in 1920,
- the loss of functions of being a border settlement in the period between the two World Wars and the restriction of developments.
The castle in the 1600s
The beginning of a new period
Painting by Antal Ligeti (1854)
After the destruction of the castle, the condition of the remaining parts of the walls in the fire continued to deteriorate, the locals used its stones as building materials for the construction of houses.
It is worth mentioning that the first visual representation of the castle ruins was made in 1854 by Antal Ligeti‘s painting and lithograph, but there were also depictions in 1890 and 1902. Moreover, there are photographs of the walls that had been standing abandoned; these were born around the turn of the century. It is important that these memories are great help and have always been helping the reconstruction work.
Painting by Antal Ligeti (1854)
At the beginning of the 20th century, the sense of duty of the locals had strengthened towards their past. Thus, in 1910, Béla Wittich, the forest keeper and assistant forestry officer of Füzér, requested the National Committee for Monuments to save the castle from total destruction. Restoration became a wish of the entire community.
The Romantic Ruined Castle (1956)
The Romantic Ruined Castle (1956)
Cart track leading to Füzér (approx. 1939)
At the expense of the Károlyi family who have owned the manor since 1686, minor preservation works took place in the castle between 1934 and 1936 based on the plans of architect Géza Lux. Despite these positive events, the subsequent period was guided by the “eradicate the past” thought, so the works could not progress or begin
Cart track leading to Füzér (approx. 1939)
The full-scale excavation of the Castle of Füzér started in 1990 with the cooperation of archaeologist Zoltán Simon and architect Péter Oltai, and for greater efficiency, a forest freight lift was also built on the side of the mountain.
The Castle of Füzér from the top of the then uncovered Castle Chapel. Opposite there is the Gate Tower, the freight lift to the right and left is the Steward’s house (1996)
The Castle of Füzér from the top of the then uncovered Castle Chapel. Opposite there is the Gate Tower, the freight lift to the right and left is the Steward’s house (1996)
Works begin in 2014
From 1993 to 2017, the office of castle guardian was held by Ferenc Kónya who can still be referred to as governor of the castle.
With excavations and research still ongoing at the time, the plans with building permit for the castle were completed by 2012 under the mayorship of Jenő Horváth, till on 12 November the Upper Castle of Füzér received the building permit.
Works begin in 2014
In the same year, the Füzér Castle Guardianship, which operates the fortress and is part of the local government, was founded, its manager is Márta Tompa-Vida.
The castle revived from the ashes
As a result of the persistent efforts and more than a century-long process, between 2012 and 2015 the Lower Castle of Füzér, the fortification being 50 metres lower than the upper part of the building was rebuilt and the Rocky pasture Visitor Trail “presenting a natural wonder” was completed.
The wolf pit in front of the Lower Castle and the castle gate with the drawbridge (2017)
The wolf pit in front of the Lower Castle and the castle gate with the drawbridge (2017)
Castle of Füzér under construction (2015)
In 2014, the road to the castle, the Castle Parking and the visitor promenade were completed. Crowning all this, the Gothic Castle Chapel, the Palace Wing, Cellar level, Attic and Lower Bastion of the Upper Castle in Füzér were rebuilt between 2014 and 2015.
Castle of Füzér under construction (2015)
However, even after this, the intention of restoration has still not waned, as in December 2017, the building permit plans for phases II and III of the Citadel were completed.
Between 2019 and 2020, as a result of Phase II, the two elements of the farming wing of the castle, the Kitchen and the Oven House were built. The arrangement of the exhibition of these parts of the building has been ongoing ever since. Back in the same year, the Castle Chapel consecrated in honour of the Ascension was blessed by the three historical churches and it is still used as an ecumenical site today.
Beginning of Phase II: the completed Kitchen, Oven House (2022)
Beginning of Phase II: the completed Kitchen, Oven House (2022)
The Castle of Füzér before and after
The hard work of the predecessors is slowly coming to fruition. Many are sure to wonder — either because they already have been here or because they haven’t — what REG-ÉLŐ Castle of Füzér was like and what it has become. The difference is quite amazing, but judge for yourselves!
