Page 224 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Hungary

222  HUNGAR Y REGION B Y REGION EGER  223

Eger Castle VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

Entering Eger Castle through its tiny gate set into walls 3 m Practical Information
(10 ft) thick, with the walls of the upper fortress menacing Vár utca, Eger.
in the background, it is not difficult to understand how its Road Map E3.
Tel (36) 31 27 44.
defenders held out for so long against the invading Turks. Castle Museums: Open Apr–
For it was here at Eger, in 1552, that the greatest rearguard Oct: 10am– 6pm daily; Nov–
action in Hungarian military history was carried out. The Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun.
castle, defended by a garrison of just 2,000 soldiers ably Castle Gates: Open Apr–Oct:
8am–10pm daily; Nov–Mar:
assisted by the women of the town, held out against a 8am–6pm daily. & =
Turkish force five times that size for six weeks. The Turks . Ruins of Romanesque _ Castle Festivities (Jul).
retreated, but took the castle 44 years later, only for much Cathedral ∑ egrivar.hu
of it to be destroyed in 1702 by the Habsburgs. The ruins of a 10th-century Transport
Baptistry in the inner court- . Underground Corridors £ @
. Bishop’s Palace yard feature the grave of Castle Hill is a warren of
The names of all those who Eger’s first Bishop, Buldus. under ground chambers and paths,
Waxworks in defended the castle in 1552 dug by the Turks in order to attack
Fold Bastion are engraved on a marble the castle from below. Some 200 m
A great collection of tablet in the main hall. (656 ft) are open to the public.
lifelike figures, displayed
over three levels of
the bastion, recreates
scenes from the siege.

Main
entrance

Art Gallery
The Art Gallery hosts an unrivalled Bull’s Blood Wine
collection of Baroque Hungarian
paintings and sculptures, including Bull’s Blood of Eger is Hungary’s most cele brated wine.
this bas-relief above the entrance. Comparable to Bordeaux reds, Bull’s Blood is robust and
fruity, made of a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
and Cabernet Franc grapes.
During the Siege of Eger in 1552, copious amounts
KEY of the wine were drunk by the soldiers who defended
the castle against the Turks, and word was put about
1 Round Tower that their bravery was based on the blood of bulls that
2 Ticket office had been added to the wine. The stories were almost Ippolito Gate and
certainly false, but they impressed the superstitious
3 Three Crosses Hill Turks, and played a minor role in their defeat and retreat. Bornemissza Bastion
Dobó Bastion The castle gate is named
4 Tomb of Gárdonyi The bastions and walls were built or forti fied from the after an Italian cardinal,
5 Cannon Hill mid-1500s under István Dobó, who led the defenders Egri Bikavér, Hungary’s Bull’s Blood wine Ippolito d’Este, who became
at the Siege of Eger. Archbishop of Esztergom.
For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

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