This fine example of late castle building in Hungary is just 20 kilometres from Veszprém. It is not known exactly when the castle was built, but its earliest mention was in a document dated 1469, in which a Pál Udvary is named as Castellan. László Vezsenyi, Queen Mary of Hungary’s master carpenter, was granted permission to build the castle, while his son (of the same name) commenced the construction works at the beginning of the 1400s. After his death in 1472, the castle passed into the possession of Pál Kinizsi, who immediately also began major building works. He wanted to make the castle more secure, yet also more comfortable. Following Kinizsi’s death, his widow Benigna Magyar continued the work. In 1640, the castle became the property of the Zichy family. In the 1950s, excavations and painstaking refurbishment works were carried out at the castle, led by archaeologist István Éri.
Nagyvázsony Kinizsi Castle has survived more intact and been more completely restored than most others in Hungary and particularly in Transdanubia. Features of the early Renaissance in Hungary can be observed in it.
The castle is a memorial to Pál Kinizsi and the heroes – both renowned and anonymous – of the Végvár battles against the Ottomans.
More information about the opening hours here.
