Réka Castle
Réka Castle Réka vár | |
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Coordinates: 46°13′20″N 18°25′53″E / 46.2221°N 18.4313°ECoordinates: 46°13′20″N 18°25′53″E / 46.2221°N 18.4313°E | |
Country | Hungary |
County | Baranya |
Réka Castle (Hungarian: Rékavára or Réka vár); is a ruined castle in Baranya county, Hungary. It has been identified as the possible place of refuge for members of the royal family of England in the eleventh century.
The ruins of Réka Castle are near Mecseknádasd, on a hilltop marked with a cross, towards the opening to Old Mine's Valley (Óbányai-völgy).
A local tradition describes the arrival in Hungary in St Stephen's time of two English princes, one of whom, Edward, was given one of the king's daughters in marriage, a reference to Agatha, to whom both early chroniclers and later historians have attributed a wide variety of origins. The tradition tells that Edward also received from the king an estate with Réka Castle in the middle, which would be called "Terra Britanorum de Nadasd"[1] by a document from 1235 (The deed of gift issued by Andrew II in 1235 gave certain land bordering the territory of the Brits of Nádasd to the chapter of the Bishop of Pécs). The family would have lived in Réka Castle until their return to England in 1057, and their children, including a daughter later to become St Margaret of Scotland, may have been born there.[2]
According to experts, the approximately 200 metre long and 36 metre wide courtyard was surrounded by a 3-metre thick stonewall. The round tower foundation discovered in the excavations probably are the remnants of the guards' post. The central section of the courtyard was enclosed by a row of buildings behind which there was a 10-metre-wide ditch along the side of the outer castle. This row was presumably single-storey with a shingled roof. The remnants of a multi-storey tower were uncovered on the side of the outer castle. The precise time of its construction is still under debate. It is thought to be of Illyrian or Celtic origins or rooted in the later 9th century Frankish architecture. The first charter referring to the castle dates from 1309. The circumstances of its destruction are unknown (The castle was possibly burnt down at the Turkish age (16th-17th century)). The locals took what was left of it to build homes and mills.
References
- ^ Gabriel Ronay, The Lost King of England: The East European Adventures of Edward the Exile, Boydell & Brewer, 2000 [1]
- ^ Bérczi Sz. (2008): Magyarországi szent királylányok emlékezete. ( Remembrance of saint princesses of Hungary) TKTE. Budapest (ISBN 978-963-87437-2-5)
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