Eger Castle
Hilltop fortress of the 1552 siege, now the István Dobó Castle Museum with casemates and cathedral ruins.
A fortress was raised on the hill above Eger after the Mongol invasion of 1241, enclosing the bishop's seat and a Romanesque cathedral that was later rebuilt in Gothic form. The castle entered Hungarian national memory in 1552, when a garrison under István Dobó held out against a far larger Ottoman army for more than a month; the defence is the subject of Géza Gárdonyi's novel Eclipse of the Crescent Moon, and the writer is buried within the walls. The Ottomans took the castle in 1596 and held it until 1687.
Since 1925 the site has housed the István Dobó Castle Museum. Displays in the Gothic bishop's palace cover the castle's history and the 1552 siege, with arms, armour and finds from long-running excavations; the Heroes' Hall holds Dobó's tomb. Visitors can walk the excavated foundations of the cathedral, take a guided tour of the casemate tunnels cut through the rock, and climb the Varkoch Bastion for views over the Baroque town. A picture gallery, a prison display and a castle cinema complete the circuit.
Highlights
- Casemate tunnels cut into the rock, seen by guided tour
- Heroes' Hall with the tomb of István Dobó
- Excavated ruins of the Gothic cathedral
- Views over Baroque Eger from the bastions
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