Rákóczi Castle

About this place

Rákóczi Castle, also known as Sárospatak Castle, is a fortified palace on the bank of the Bodrog River in the town of Sárospatak in northeastern Hungary, about 63 km northeast of Miskolc in a straight line. It is regarded as the finest work of late Renaissance architecture in Hungary and is part of the national heritage. The nobleman Péter Perényi built the present palace and the town's fortifications between 1534 and 1542, making his home in a Renaissance residential tower reached from a diamond-shaped courtyard. In 1616 the castle passed to the Rákóczi family; Zsuzsanna Lorántffy and her husband George I Rákóczi enlarged the palace and in 1647 added the arcaded Lorántffy Loggia. Today it houses the Rákóczi Museum of the Hungarian National Museum, and it appears on the back of the 500 forint banknote. The massive stone Red Tower rises above the white wings, topped by a storey with a tall pyramid roof and four small corner turrets. Renaissance arcades with carved stone arches and columns wrap around the courtyard, and a large park with big old trees surrounds the palace by the river. Visitors walk the courtyard and park and tour the museum rooms in the tower and wings. It pairs well with a stroll through the old town, and spring and autumn suit a visit best.