The Castle of Sümeg is one of the most beautiful fortresses of the
country. It was built on a barren hilltop towering above surroundings,
and it has been in relatively good condition since the Middle Ages.
The Castle consists of three major parts: an exterior and an interior
fortress as well as a citadel. Building periods are also
distinguishable. The lower level of the citadel's Old Tower , possibly
built with an upper level of wood construction in the 1260s, is the
oldest part of the Castle.
Large-scale extension was carried out in the 15th century, at the time
of the bishops Mátyás Gathalóczy (1440-1457), Albert Vetési (1458-1486)
and János Vitéz junior (1489-1499). Bishop Vetési had the Inner
Gatehouse built and the palace on the southern cliff of the castle hill
completed. The construction of the Outer Gatehouse and the battlements can be put
to a later period. Chapel design can be connected to bishop János Vitéz.
Largescale building operations started again after the fall of Veszprém
to the Turks in 1552 when the episcopal seat took refuge in the Castle
of Sümeg. Construction work was led by bishop András Köves (1553-1568)
and commander of the Castle Józsa Ormányi. First of all, at the north
corner of the castle, they built a big, two-level bastion of a
pentagonal plan, named after bishop Köves later, then they had the
palace wing reconstruced.
Bishop György Széchenyi (1648-1658)
raised the Castle of Sümeg to the state of an episcopal seat and the
launched the reconstruction of the palace wing in a baroque style. His
successor bishop István Sennyei (1659-1683) went on with building the
Castle, having the Outer Gatehouse reinforced and atall bastion, named
after him now, put next to it.
The 17th century history of castle
construction came to an end with the activity of bishop Pál Széchenyi
(1687-1710) who might have new construction as well as repair work done. Early in the following century, the Castle started to decline. It was
burnt down again after the Rákóczi War of Independence and, from this
time on, it was devoted to destruction for two centuries and a half. Excavation and reconstruction started in 1957 and it took seven years.Utilization rights have been privately exercised since 1989 and
reconstruction has been going on ever since.
At the foot of the Castle, in front of the horse stables an equestrian
statue of Saint George the Dragon Killer by Sándor Oláh is to be seen.
In to the Castle you can go up on foot, or if you would like you can use the Castle taxi service. More Information:
www.vartaxi.hu
We enjoyed our stay and look forward to returning. Excellent experience and service.
Thank you.
Luke
www.AmericanDating.com
