# Szolnok Castle

- **Country:** Hungary
- **Coordinates:** 47.173800, 20.204300
- **Location Text:** Szolnok District

Szolnok Castle was a strategically vital military fortress located at the confluence of the Tisza and Zagyva rivers in the Great Hungarian Plain. Originally established as an earthwork fort during the Árpád dynasty between the 9th and 13th centuries, the site served as a critical crossroads for salt and lumber trade routes as well as army movements between Buda and Transylvania. Recognizing its importance as one of only two defenses protecting central Hungary against Ottoman expansion, King Ferdinand I ordered significant upgrades between 1550 and 1552. Under the supervision of General Nicolaus Salm and commander Lőrinc Nyáry, the structure was transformed from a simple palisade into a formidable four-sided stone and clay fortress featuring rounded corner towers, a spacious inner courtyard, and a wide moat created by diverting the Zagyva River.

The castle holds a notable place in history due to the dramatic Ottoman siege of September 1552. Despite being well-stocked with cannons, muskets, and provisions for its 1,400 defenders, the garrison suffered a catastrophic collapse in morale. Composed largely of Spanish, German, and Czech mercenaries alongside Hungarian troops, the defense crumbled when foreign horsemen and boatmen deserted first, followed by the foot soldiers who fled across the river. This mass desertion left the fortress gates open to the approaching army of Pasha Ahmed Ali, leading to its capture without a final stand. Following the eventual end of Ottoman occupation and the Rákóczi Uprising in the 17th century, the fortification fell into disuse and was systematically dismantled, with its stones repurposed for other buildings in the growing town. Today, no standing structures remain, though traces of the site persist near the modern hospital lake where the original river branch once flowed.

![Photo of Szolnok Castle](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Szolnok1617.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szolnok_Castle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)