Barcs

Barcs (Barč; Bartsch or Draustadt) is a border town in Somogy County, Hungary, and the seat of Barcs District. The Drava River marks the southern boundary of the settlement. Located at the Croatian border and the River Drava, the town is surrounded by the Danube-Drava National Park. It is the seat of Barcs District. Barcs was first mentioned between 1389 and 1417 in official documents as part of the lordship of Segesd. Its castle was first mentioned in 1460 which belonged to János and István Bakonyai at that time. In 1467 the Marzcali family owned the settlement. The Castle of Barcs was in the hands of Gergely Horváth de Gáj in 1472. István Bakonyai died in 1480 and did not leave anheir, therefore his possession went to Péter, Provost of Transylvania and royal chancellor and Orbán Nagylucsei treasurer, furthermore the brothers of Péter, Balázs and János Nagylucsei as a royal gift. Orbán Nagylucsei (Orbán Dóczy) Bishop of Eger owned it in 1489. Members of the Báthori family got Barcs in 1495 from the king. According to the tax register of 1550 its owner was András Báthori. After the Turkish occupation the Hungarian Kingdom lost the continuous control of this region. The Ottoman Porte's tax register list 46 houses there between 1565 and 1566. It was also in the hands of Ferenc Nádasdy between 1598 and 1599. The tithe register of Pannonhalma Abbey mentioned the settlement under the suzerainty of the Castle of Szent György in 1660. In the winter of 1664 the army of Miklós Zrínyi approached the castle. The Turkish soldiers fearing the defeat left the castle. Zrínyi burnt it down. In 1677 György Széchényi Archdiocese of Kalocsa got Barcs from Leopold I. Between 1715 and 1733 the Széchenyi family became its owner and in 1835 it was already under the suzerainty of Erdőcsokonya. In 1720 the village was half Hungarian and half Croatian. There were also some Bosniak and Šokci families. The following Croatian people lived in Barcs in 1720: Ivan Persics, Petrus Trifanovics, Stefan Odelics, Mathia Perics, Marcin Bosrineć, Georg Jalenovecz, Step.