Fiľakovo Castle
| Fiľakovo Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Fiľakovo Castle aerial view |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Fileck Castle | |
| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | partially renovated | |
| Place: | Fiľakovo , Slovakia | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 16 '18 " N , 19 ° 49' 31" E | |
| Height: | 245 m nm | |
|
||
The Castle Fiľakovo ( German castle Fileck ; Slovak hrad Fiľakovský , Hungarian Fülek vára ) is the ruins of a hilltop castle in the southern Slovakia . It extends on a volcanic hill almost in the heart of the town of Fiľakovo .
history
Already in the 12th century there was a fort or stone castle on the castle hill. The castle appears for the first time in 1242 in a document that reports on the survival of the castle during the Mongol invasion in 1241. The castle had several owners, including the Kacsics family and, in the early 14th century, the oligarch Matthäus Csák , who owned the castle from 1311-21. After that, Fileck Castle was owned by the Hungarian crown for a long time before it was pledged to the Perényi family in 1435. In 1483 the castle was conquered by an army under Matthias Corvinus . In 1490 it came into the possession of the castellan Ráksai, whose daughter married Ferenc Bebek, who received the castle as a dowry.
Because of the proximity of the Turkish troops after the Battle of Mohács , the Bebeks had the castle converted into a Renaissance fortress. The Italian Alessandro de Vedano was commissioned. Despite this expansion, the Turks could easily take the castle for themselves in 1554. Then it became the seat of the Sanjaks Filek, which extended over large parts of today's southern Slovakia. It was not until 1593 that an imperial army was able to recapture the castle. In the course of the anti-Habsburg uprisings and Turkish wars , the castle was often renewed (1602, 1604, 1608, 1609, 1613 and 1619). Nevertheless, after the first two renovations, Stephan Bocskay's rebels were able to conquer the castle, and in 1615 it burned down along with the city. Then one had to reckon with the uprising of Gabriel Bethlen in the years 1621–1623.
After the uprising of George I. Rákóczi , the imperial army marched into the castle and set up a garrison. Among the most important commanders were István Koháry and István Koháry II , who hereditary exercised these functions. The latter had the walls repaired in 1672. After the first attempt of the rebels by Emmerich Thököly in 1678 failed, a Turkish army came to the rescue in 1682, which after months of siege conquered the castle, which was affected by the city. After it was completely destroyed by fire, only a ruin has risen above the city.
The castle complex has been renovated since 1972. The restored Bebek bastion houses an exhibition from the city of Fiľakovo.
