Kolárovo Castle
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Fort Gúta was a
The fort played a minor role during its history compared to the fortresses of two nearby cities, Érsekújvár and Komárom (modern day
Description
The original castle from the 14th century was protected with two palisades. These wooden walls ran parallel to each other and were reinforced with wickers. The space between the palisades was filled with mud and dirt for reinforcement. For additional protection, a moat was constructed around the castle.[3]
History
Fort Gúta was built where the Kolárovo castle stood before it. According to tradition, Mary, Queen of Hungary ordered that castle to be built around 1349 near the confluence of rivers Váh and the Little Danube to protect fords and trade routes.[4] However, Mary was born in 1371, 22 years later, and was crowned in 1382; therefore, it is more likely that the castle was either built decades later or it was built on orders from Mary's predecessor, Louis I.[5]
It has been repaired and renovated several times according to the period requirements. At the beginning of
Between 1584-1594 the fortress was strengthened with the help of the Italian army engineers. At the time when Gabriel Bethlen was conquering the fortress in Komárno, local Walloon and French soldiers escaped.
After the
Between 1662-1664 being afraid of new attacks of
The kuruc general János Bottyán stayed nearby the town for four times. On 12 July 1708 he conquered the fortress with the help of heavy artillery and captured local mercenaries. After fighting the fortress was destroyed and kuruc soldiers retreated with the words "Let it be the residence of frogs since now". Although the fortress was repaired later, its defamatory name Békavár (Frog castle) was preserved. Danish garrison was located there by general Heister. In the 1840s the fortress had no importance, only used once by the army of General Artúr Görgei, which had a rest there after a lost battle.
References
- ^ "Békavár" [Frog Castle]. Muemlekem.hu (in Hungarian). 5 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Történelem: A város múltjáról" [History: From the history of the town]. Kolárovo.sk (in Hungarian). Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Hrad mieru" [Castle of Peace]. Slovenskehrady.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ Vende 1907, pp. 64
- ^ Juhász 1996, pp. 62–63
- ^ "Gúta". Magyarorszag-szep.hu. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
Bibliography
- Juhász, Árpád (1996). Gúta és környéke a múlt századokban [Gúta and its surroundings during past centuries] (in Hungarian). Bratislava: Kalligram.
- Vende, Aladár (1907). "Gúta" (PDF). In Dr. Borovszky, Samu (ed.). Magyarország vármegyéi és városai, Magyarország monográfiája [Counties and cities of Hungary, a monograph of Hungary] (in Hungarian). Vol. X: Komárom vármegye és Komárom. Budapest: Országos Monográfia Társaság. pp. 64–69. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
