5,276 views
Somló Castle (or Somló Castle, Somló Castle) is located near Doba, on the northern side of the basalt Somló Hill, in a dense forest. The floor plan of the castle is irregular, with internal towers and several courtyards. An intact drawbridge leads across the chasm, which leads into an alley, which now leads to the forecourt. This area is bordered on the west by the guard's vaulted accommodation, and its southern and eastern walls are lined with stone crevices. From the forecourt, you can reach the inner courtyard via a drawbridge and an equally narrow alley. The most characteristic hexagonal tower of the castle is located here. Based on old writings, the kitchen was located here. It is first mentioned in written records in 1352, when King Louis the Great took it from János son of Csenik and gave it to Heim's son Benedek. The deed is registered as castrum Somlo. It was a royal castle between 1370-80. In 1389, it came into the hands of Palatine Miklós Garai and his brother as a donation from King Zsigmond, then it was owned by the Rozgony family between 1443-63, but before 1464 it was exchanged with the Anthimiak of Tapsonyi. They lost the castle in 1464 due to the judgment of King Mátyás, so its new owner became the royal cavalry master László Kanizsai until 1470, when it came back into the hands of the Garai family. After sales and purchases, King Mátyás gifted the area to Pál Kinizsi. The castle was then mortgaged and hit by financial problems. In 1495, it became the property of the Szapolyai family, from whom the bishop of Eger, Tamás Erdődi Bakócz, bought it for 12,000 gold forints at the time. It was then that he began to play a significant role in the life of the region. Tamás Bakócz restored the castle completely, which consumed considerable money from his wealth. He rebuilt the structure with the status of an observation castle into a beautiful Italian Renaissance castle. True to his ecclesiastical rank, he established a chapel in the castle, which the building lacked until then. The carved door and window frames and the chapel tower, which can still be seen today, were made during the works. After Sümeg assumed the most important military role in the region, the renovation of the castle was neglected. From 1721, the condition of the castle in Somló was deplorable. After the Rákóczi War of Independence, the Erdődy family initiated a lawsuit for the castle theoretically owned by Csoron–Liszthy (in practice no man's land), which was reclaimed on the basis of Tamás Bakócz's former gift deed. In 1735, after a lawsuit, the Erdődys reached for money to make the castle theirs. Starting in 2017, the castle will be renovated as part of the National Castle Program.