OMOKA
CASTLE
omoka
castle is located right at the Hungarian border. While approaching on
the road and looking straight at it you are actually looking from
Slovakia through Hungary at the castle, which is in Slovakia. I visited
the castle in summer of 1998.
Claming up the hill you
will pass by stone waterfall, a range of basalt lava formations, which
hardened into curved columns four million years ago and now resemble
liquid rock pouring into a stone sea. Such basalt columns, which at this
site are a haven for snakes and lizards, are found at few places on
earth: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland,
California and Wyoming and British Columbia.
Beginnings of
omokas
castle date back to 1291. It was completely built from hexagonal
basalt columns. It was a very small castle as the top of the hill on
which it stands is not very large. There was just one building with
small triangular shaped courtyard. Later on it was fortified with
two huge tower bastions. Third bastion was built at the entrance to
the castle.
In 1323 the king
Karol Róbert donated the castle to Tomá Széczényi. Under his
ownership the castle was the center of busy social life. The castle
belonged to the Széczényi family till 1461, at which time the
Loonci family became the owners.
During the Turkish
invasions in the first half of the 16th century the castle was in
the first line along with other Novohrad castles. omoka resisted
Turkish armies for a long time. In 1554 Turks conquered the most
important castle-Fiľakovo. From this place Turks controlled vast
surroundings for a long years, despite this the small gothic castle
fortified by three bastions resisted for 22 years. In the year 1576
beg Ali with strong army conquered omoka, the commander of the
defenders was inexperienced Mikulá Modolóczy.
The castle
was unbound from the Turkish domination in the 1593 when it became
property of the Loonci family again. Anna Loonci married igmund
Forgáč and after her death the castle descends to the Forgáč family.
In the 17th century during the peasant uprising the castle served as
shelter for Bocskai army (in 1619-1626 was the owner of the castle
Behlen), later to the supporters of Thokoli rebellion. In 1703 the
castle garrison joined to the rebels who were led by Frantiek
Rákoczi. After an elimination of the rebellion in 1709 the owner
imon Forgáč lost the castle and other lands. The only problem
omoka had been lack of drinking water, which
contributed to its decline in later
years. omoka
escaped from an emperors command to destroy all castles, though the
building gradually decayed. After fire in 1826 caused by lightning,
the owners of the castle had the remaining buildings destroyed.
omoka castle is unique among Slovak castles. There is a great view
from the castle: algo castle in Hungary, on the east is lava river
from near volcano Medves, on the north can be seen the contours of
Fiľakovo castle and Fiľakovo.
GO TO SLOVAKIA'S CASTLES
Published in the Slovak
Heritage Live newsletter
Volume 13, No.1, Spring 2005
Copyright Š Vladimir Linder 2005
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced,
republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without
the express written permission of
Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.
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