The Castle of Holloko - Castles on Waymarking.com

Hollókô hides among the undulations of the Cserhát hills about 95 km from Budapest in a picturesque setting. The best way (about 1 to 1½ hours) to get there from Budapest is take the M3 motorway as far as Hatvan, then take route 21. Before Pásztó the road branches off towards Hollókô.
The history of the village goes back to the 13th century, when after the Mongol invasions (1241-42) members of the Kacsics family erected a castle on Szár Hill for the order of the king, Béla IV. However, in all likelihood the medieval settlements were not located on the site of the present village. According to local legend the lord of a castle stole a pretty maiden, whose nurse was a witch. The nurse made a pact with the devil to rescue the girl. The devil’s minions, disguised as ravens, took the stones of the castle away and the castle of Hollókô was built on top of the rock here. This explains the name of the place (in Hungarian Hollókô means "raven stone"). The ravens are the larges of all black birds in the region. Their length can reach 64 cm, carrion eaters but hunting for small animals too and plants also part of their diet. Ravens walk with a majestic gait on the meadows around of village and the inhabitants thought so the ravens their protectors.
The splendid castle was mentioned in records at first in 1310 as 'castrum Hollokew'. In 1313 Róbert Károly gave the castle to the local ruler Tamás Szécsényi. The Ottomans captured it in 1552. During the Turkish Occupation Hollókô was abandoned like many other communities. The Hungarians and the Turks held castle by turns, but neither of the parties did much to strengthen it. Jan Sobieski Polish king drove the Turks out of the castle in 1683 for good once and for all. But by that time it had no more strategic importance, so it was deserted, and a slow deterioration began. In 1701 the Habsburg emperor Leopold I. gave an order to terminate the Hungarian fortifications of defence, and accordingly in 1711 the demolition of the Hollókõ castle was started, however the walls in a neglected state were not blown up. That is why the Hollókõ castle could survive the changes of times, and is now in the best condition among the Nógrád county fortifications from the 13th century.
The settlement was rebuilt in the last years of the 17th century on the site of the current old village. The settlement burnt down several times, because the buildings were covered with flammable thatched roofs until the beginning of the 20th century. Following the last fire in 1909, the houses had to be completely rebuilt with clay-brick walls and tiled roofs, but still the ancient vernacular architectural style. The traditional medieval village structure can easily be seen. The single long street has thin lots running off it at right angles. In the middle of the settlement, as if on an island, stands the village church. The wooden towered, tile-covered Roman Catholic Church was built through public contributions in 1889. It’s surrounded by no fewer than 67 wooden framed houses which are examples of 18th century Palóc architecture with stepped gable roofs, decorative porches, exposed beams and cellars. The majority of this part of the village form museum, but it is important to say that Hollókô is not a museum or skansen. It to this day is living, inhabited village, whose traditionally residents still use a portion of the building according to their original purpose. Inhabitants are palóc, a remarkable ethnic group in Hungary’s population. Altogether 403 people live in Hollókô and although it is true most are retired there are also some young families. Peoples use the Palóc language and on holidays dress in their hand woven, richly embroidered folk costume. Perhaps the most spectacular festival at Hollókô is Easter, when they display not only the clothes, but also the Easter customs and folk crafts. The Raspberry Festival in July attracts many visitors, as does the Nógrád Folklore Festival and the August Castle Tournament. In September a grape harvest procession is held and there are concerts in the castle and church.
The ruins of this castle still dominate the village today. The Szár Hill where it stands is the cliff of an andesite dyke witch is part of the radial dyke system of Cserhát Mountains. The Cserhát Mountains is a part of the Miocene Inner Carpathian volcanic arc, a hilly area situated between the Börzsöny and the Mátra Mountains. It’s a volcanic structure built up by polycentric domes, stratovolcanoes (see the protected geological site near Sámsonháza) and dykes. Cserhát magmatic activity occurred 21-12 million years ago. Shallow sea covered the region at the time. Limestone sedimentation of the sea was disturbed by andesite volcanic activity. Andesite swelling up from below had to break through several hundred meters thick sediments before reaching the surface. It captivated shreds of sediments and these inclusions a visible in several places on the outcropping sidewalls of the dyke. Age of the dyke of Hollókô is 14-15 million years. At some place form subvolcanic bodies which intruded into the older volcanic rocks. Like this a laccolith can be seen in the nearly quarry of Zsuny. It’s younger than dykes, its age is 13,5 million year.
A botanical study-trail circles around the castle. It beginning near the castle and presenting flora of Cserhát Mountains and rock of castle hill. It is well worth walking up to the ruins; there is an exhibition of the remains of weapons found here, cannonballs and rock carvings. And there is a beautiful view over the surrounding protected area, which is a part of the Bükk National Park.

Accessibility: Full access Condition: Partly ruined Admission Charge?: Not Listed Website: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/10/2008 bolyak visited it 02/24/2007 apexsek visited it

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