Visegrádi Fellegvár

About the museum

The Visegrád Citadel (Visegrádi Fellegvár) stands on the top of Castle Hill (Várhegy), where the bend of the Danube and the surrounding mountains come together into a single view. The stone castle was built in the middle of the 13th century, after the Mongol invasion, on the orders of Béla IV; it was also meant as a refuge, to which the Dominican nuns living on Nyulak-sziget (Rabbit Island) and the king’s daughter Margit could withdraw.

In 1323 the king, I. Károly, moved his royal seat to Visegrád, and the settlement briefly became the centre of the country. The castle also housed the Holy Crown for a long time; it was smuggled out of here in 1440 on the orders of Queen Erzsébet. In 1335 three rulers, the kings of Hungary, Bohemia and Poland, met at Visegrád; the name of the Central European Visegrád cooperation refers to that meeting.

In later centuries the castle declined in importance; in the Ottoman period it took on a military role, and then it became a ruin. Today’s citadel is the result of the destruction and the excavations that followed, with overlapping layers of history. It now houses the Holy Crown exhibition, a castle-history exhibition, a waxworks display (panoptikum) and a weapons-history exhibition.

Highlights

• Panorama over the Danube Bend
• Holy Crown exhibition
• Castle-history exhibition
• Waxwork display commemorating the 1335 royal meeting
• Medieval weapons-history exhibition
• Noble hunting in the Middle Ages

Permanent exhibitions

• Szent Korona-kiállítás – The custody and history of the Holy Crown in Visegrád.
• Vártörténeti kiállítás – The history of Visegrád Castle from the 13th century.
• Panoptikum és fegyvertörténeti kiállítás – Wax figures commemorating the 1335 royal meeting at Visegrád, together with medieval weapons and noble hunting.

Operated by

Pilisi Parkerdő Zrt.

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission for everyone on 15 March, 20 August and 23 October; on the fourth Sunday of every month admission is free for families.

A guided visit of the Citadel can be booked separately.

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Events & venue rental

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