Somogyvár
Encyclopedia
Somogyvár is a village in Somogy county, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

.
It is situated south from Lengyeltóti
Lengyeltóti
-Settings:The town can be found south from Fonyód, along the highway to Somogyvár, the old seat of the county. The highway went from the Lake Balaton to the southern part of the vountry. The town sits on the top of a hill. Its name: Tóti, meant slavonic people in the ancient times, so probably the...

, between Lengyeltóti, Öreglak
Öreglak
Öreglak is a village in Somogy county, Hungary.- External links :*...

 and
Somogyvámos
Somogyvámos
Somogyvámos is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. It is about 25 km north of Kaposvár, and about 25km south of Fonyód.-History:The surrounding lands were inhabited since the Avaric rule . Its first written mention is from 1237, as "Csopak", which is now a name of a different town about...

.

History

It is a historical traditional knowledge that, after the death of Geza of Hungary
Géza of Hungary
Géza , Grand Prince of the Hungarians .Géza was the son of Taksony of Hungary, Grand Prince of the Hungarians and his Pecheneg or Bulgar wife. Géza's marriage with Sarolt, the daughter of Gyula of Transylvania, was arranged by his father.After his father's death , Géza followed him as Grand Prince...

, Koppány
Koppány
Koppány was a Hungarian nobleman of the tenth century. Brother of the ruling prince of Hungary, Géza of the Árpád dynasty, Koppány ruled as Prince of Somogy in the region south of Lake Balaton...

 prince hold his central fortress in the region of the recent Somogyvár.

Koppány princ started to attack the Veszprém
Veszprém
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...

 frotres in 997 from here. Archaeological excavations revealed that in 1091 Ladislaus I of Hungary king supported the building of the Saint Benedictian Monastery of Somogyvár here. Before the 11th century Bronze Age layers were found in the excavations.

The monastery has been built between 1091 and 1095 and the first monks were invited from the Abbey of Saint-Gilles. Later monks were also invited both from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and other abbeys from Hungary.

The royal fortress of Somogyvár was frequently mentioned in charters from 1163. Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...

 gave the fortress in 1410 to Marczali Miklós. Later, in 1474 the Báthori family received Somogyvár town, than the Enyingi Török family owned it.

The monastery was used till the Ottoman wars in 16th century. After the battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....

, it was transformed and rebuilt as a fortress. In 1543 the Ottoman army destroyed the monastery fortress.

After the end of the Turkish wars and occupation, in 1677 Széchenyi György archbishop of Kalocsa
Kalocsa
Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies 88 miles south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater political and economic importance than at present.Kalocsa is the Episcopal see...

 rebuilt the village and owned it till the 20th century.

Archaeological excavations began in 1972 in order to reveal the remnants of the abbey. The recovered ruins were open for the audience in 1991.

Main sights

  • The ruins of the Saint Egyed Abbey consacrated in 1091
  • Széchenyi-kastély
  • Szentesica fountain

External links

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