If you mention the name of the town of Eger everybody thinks of the castle from the middle age, standing above the narrow streets of the baroque inner-town.

On the castle hills above the stream of Eger the first circular church was founded in the years after the establishment of the Hungarian State. Not long after that it was followed by the episcopal cathedral, dedicated to St. John the evangelist. At the beginning the groups of parochial buildings were not fortified, as the shelter castle of the bishop of Eger was on the top of the nearby hill of Felsőtárkány.

In order to replace the castle, which had been destroyed by the mongol invasion, the church of Eger had been strenghthened by stonewalls. On the basis of this in the following centuries Eger castle emerged gradually and became an important role player in this region of the country.

In 1552 the castle survived its most famous battle - well-known to everybody -, when István Dobó and his army successfully fought back the Turkish attack. At the end of the century the castle became the possession of the Ottoman Empire until 1687. Having lost its military role, its defences were gradually destroyed until the archeological works stopped it. The fortification, simbolizing the never fading heroism of the defenders of Eger still requires work of generations to assure it will be available for our descendens to see.

According to a local legend the high ground "Királyszéke" (King's chair) in the North from the castle was named after King St. Stephan, who was sitting in his tent, set up exactly in this spot, while he was watching the building of the first cathedral.

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