“Verancsics’ s dark hair floated in the wind as if the waters of the nearby Lake Balaton were rippling in the twilight hours. Despite the forces of nature, the castle captain stood on the walls of Veszprém Castle, his gaze scanning the horizon for some time. Perhaps he was thinking about the approaching Turkish army, or perhaps he was recalling his memories of Italy, when a stray leaf caught in the breeze distracted him from these concerns. How lightly, how slowly the little leaf floated down beside the castle walls – He became lost in thought. He then continued to follow this idea and yet another invention was conceived in the head of Faustus Verancsics.”
All this is not from a medieval knightly novel, nor can we even say that this scene really happened in medieval Veszprém, but it is true that the 16th-century captain of Veszprém castle was called Faustus Verancsics. What makes him stand out from the rest was his epoch-defining intellect, which some compare to that of his contemporary Leonardo da Vinci. Historians have found blueprints for many inventions among his notes, including agricultural machinery and new weapons, but one of the most interesting was a drawing of a rudimentary parachute. Who knows, perhaps it was a falling leaf that made him think about the physics of the parachute, and maybe this moment of inspiration took place in Veszprém.
In any case, there is a bronze plaque dedicated to his memory, on the cobbled street leading to the castle. Right under the Heroes’ Gate.
