Hungary · 13th century
Castle of Szarvaskő ranks #8,118 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #68 of the 135 mapped in Hungary. Founded 1261, it is older than 66% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 1091 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Miskolc, 36 km away. See how Hungary compares in the castle statistics.
The Castle of Szarvaskő is a by now destroyed castle, whose ruins are to be found on the western edge of the summit region of the Bükk area, on the north-eastern spur of Keselyű hill, on top of a steep rocky mountain. It was once, together with Cserép Castle and the castle of Dédes, an outer fortress of Eger. The exact time of its origin is unknown, but on the basis of documents it can be well delimited that it was built by the bishops of Eger between 1261 and 1295. After the Rákóczi War of Independence it remained episcopal property, but its military role ceased, so the abandoned castle was completely destroyed in the second half of the 18th century. The castle ruin is today an outstanding tourist attraction of Szarvaskő, currently operating as a lookout. Because of its special and rare plant species, Várhegy is part of the Bükk National Park.
The castle of Szarvaskő has been included as cultural heritage in the register of national values entered into the Heves County Collection of Values since 2017.
On 17 March 2018 the president of the Szarvaskör Association and the mayor of Szarvaskő signed the agreement declaring the Szarvaskő castle of Döbrönte and the castle of Szarvaskő twin castles. This kind of partnership was the first of its kind established in the country.
Machine-translated from “Szarvaskői vár” on the Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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