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Kőszeg-medieval Castle

Kőszeg, Hungary

Kőszeg-Medieval castle

 

 Kőszeg is a settlement with sub-alpine climate situated at the foot of the Alps. The favourite beauty spots in Kőszeg mountains like Sevenspring, Written Stone or the Old house lookout tower all invite the visitors for a walk. The climate and the soil are both suitable for winegrowing and wine-production. Wine-production provided living for the inhabitants for centuries in the town. According to the tradition, the rank of the free royal city was first redeemed in the county by good quality wine. Kőszeg – also known as Hungary’s jewel-box – lies in the valley of the mountains surrounded by these vineyards. Its historic buildings and monuments remained almost in their original form due to its former border-town role. As a result, you can visit the former market place (present Jurisich square) with its original buildings and the town-well in the middle. You can also see the Town Hall here, which has placed the local government for 292 years. From the market place we can have a short walk to Jurisich castle, the symbol of Kőszeg. This castle influenced Kőszeg’s and Vienna’s history a lot as in 1532 defenders of the castle stopped the Turkish army advancing to Vienna and defended it against being overrun. Jurisich Castle Cultural Centre and Open-Air Theatre and the local museum operate in this historical environment. In the last decades Kőszeg has became famous not only for its historic buildings but also for its unique honesty boxes. The goods placed in the streets without keeping an eye on them prove that public security is excellent in the town and moreover, the people are reliable and welcome guests with distinguished hospitality.
Having walked in Rajnis street, let’s visit Jurisich or Esterházy castle on the north-west part of the city. The Esterházy family owned tha castle for 236 years and it became the property of the National Treasury only in 1931. It has been called Jurisich Castle since 1932.The former fortress – so-called Lower Castle – got its current appearance after the great fire in 1777. Present visitors can also distinguish the two architectural units, the outer castle and the inner one. The remains of the extremely thick walls prove that the outer castle must have served an outer defensive function. We cab reach the entrance of the outer castle on the brick-set bridge built over the moat. In front of the pillars of the door there are two stones with initials ND and dates 1666 and 1670 respectively, which were the border stones of the Nádasdy estate. The holes above the gate prove the former existence of a drawbridge. The north and south wings of the buildings near the outer castle were built in the 17th and the 18th century, respectively. The guard and the staff of the castle was housed here. In the yard the statue of Miklós Jurisich can be seen (made by Sándor Mikus in 1963)
 

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