From ancient times people have built strongholds to protect themselves against an enemy or the forces of nature and to provide secure conditions in which to live. In the iron and bronze ages they built moat systems, earthworks and protective barriers. The remains of the magnificent stone buildings-city walls, dwellings, temples and palaces.which the Romans have bequeathed us at numerous sites in Pannonia, have been finely restored and are open to visitors.

Palaces in the Region

In the building of castle, defensive considerations to precedence over all other requirements. It was only with the Renaissance that considerations of comfort came to the fore. Living quarters became more expensive, lighter and more decorative, and the environment around the castle played an ever more important role.

There are many palaces in the region with elegant features, exacting architectural solutions and surrounded by parks which have been developed over centuries and have their own special atmosphere. These attract crowds of visitors. It is worth making a journey into a world of the imagination, to see these slumbering, just awakening or newly flourishing palaces, set in their beautiful parks.

Medieval Castles

Most castles in the region were built after the Mongol occupation (1242) by royal licence, and soon became the centres of baronial power. The second large wave of building took place in the 16th century. From 1541 onwards, a well-organised Turkish power had entrenched itself in the middle of the country, and the fortification system that was established at the border of the occupation area not only served military purposes, but also protected the locals.

As the systems of defensive architecture developed, the castles became more impregnable. In the sixteenth century the new Italian type of fortified ramparts with wing bastions was the final product of the castle building era. Only smaller fortifications were constructid after this period, exclusively for military purposes, but those castles that remained intact still played an important defensive role as centres in the uprising during the freedom was led by Rákóczi.

A combinatiion of history, a passion for telling stories and imaginative creativity has produced adventurous, romantic and heroic legends reflecting on the past of the crumbling castles.