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Concept
Szolnok Castle
Summary
Szolnok Castle was an important military fort for many centuries due to its prime location at the confluence of the Tisza and Zagyva rivers, in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain. The area was the crossroads of several trade routes, including salt and lumber, as well as being a key route for armies passing between Buda and Transylvania. Against the advancing Ottoman forces in the 16th century, Szolnok and Eger were the only two forts protecting the heart of Hungary and Upper Hungary.
Beginning in the time of the Árpád dynasty (9th to 13th centuries) there was an earthwork fort at Szolnok. After the 1526 Battle of Mohács this was expanded to a Pfostenschlitzmauer, and later a stone fortress in the face of Szolnok's key position against the Ottomans. In the 17th century the fort continued to be expanded and improved, but after the Rákóczi Uprising the fort fell into disuse. It was dismantled and the stones were used in several buildings in Szolnok. Today only traces of the fort remain.
The decision to upgrade the palisade fort to one of stone was based on Szolnok's geographical importance, and its place in the border castle system. After the Ottoman armies captured Temesvár and occupied the Danube-Tisza-Mureş area, only two forces of any significance stood between them and the rest of Hungary: Szolnok, and Eger to the north. Beginning in June 1552, Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Viennese agents all began reporting that the Ottoman army was on the move out of Temesvár towards Szolnok and Eger. The task of capturing the two was given to Ali Pasha of Buda. After the fall of other minor fortifications on the Puszta, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Pashas Ahmed, Ali, and Mohamed to lead their armies against the castles.
It was in light of this Turkish danger that in 1550-51 Ferdinand I ordered the Szolnok earthworks to be improved with a new town wall (partially planned by István Dobó), the castle to be fortified, and Lőrinc Nyáry put in command.
Official source
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