Szadvar castle project and youth camp, Hungary

Poverty, hunger, wars, earthquakes these are not from the past but are existent in our present. What has changed since 1567?

Many tragic events like above take place in the World and here we are an enthusiastic, quick to act, diligent association – like many others – who are asking support on GlobalGiving. At least three times a year we visit that little village which is so far from everything, to cut out some unneeded brushes from top of a mound of stones where there used to be a castle. But what is the main reason for getting together from time to time?

This winter is so long and very cold, just like it was in January, 450 years ago. A woman, Zsofia Patocsy, had been left in Szadvar castle (alone which used to be her home) with civilians, servants, old and young people and of course with some armed men. Her husband, Gyorgy Bebek was gone for a while due to some kind of political discussion. He changed his point of view and started supporting the opposite political power he turned from the Habsburgs to the Transylvanian Principality. Of course the Habsburgs became angry for him. Gyorgy Bebek left his wife alone in the castle and the Habsburg’s troops took advantage. Szadvar was an important strategical castle in those times. The main road which joined two big cities Kassa (Kosice) and Miskolc together, ran beneath Szádvár’s castle.

The siege took a week. It was very strange in those times because in winter nobody went to war, especially in January. The usual time for this was from spring to autumn. She did her best as she could, fought like a brave man to protect people and to save her own property from the enemies. She believed her husband could come home with an army. But in Szadvar castle there were not enough soldiers and food and also the north side of walls became weakened, a week later she gave up the castle. The enemy let her go to Transylvania but she could never return to the castle and she lost her husband in the same year.

She was an extraordinary woman. Her beauty was famous. She had ebony black hair and white skin like porcelain. She always tried to protect civilians, the weak and the needy. She was an expert of herbs could cure many kinds of illnesses with her creams and teas. Girls around from noble families came to her for some pieces of advice because Zsófia was very intelligent and clever.

We try to save and preserve the memory of Szadvar, the repute of a brave woman, so our Association is organizing a memory weekend to keep up Zsofia’s remembrance for the following generation on the 450^th anniversary of the siege on 11-12 March. In the programme there are going to be musicians who play medieval music. The castle is going to be lit up with torches after a march for Zsofia. We also invited artists who make handmade medieval things from clay and woods. An expert will deliver a lecture and render some useful and practical advice about herbs. We are also managing an exhibition from the artefact of Szadvar.

The Friends of Szadvar believe that we can make the World better but, to reduce the number of wars, poverty and also create a better life if we can, we must learn from the tragic events of history. Our mission is also to show the good example of our small heroes. We ask your support to show Zsofia Patocsy’s life and also invite everybody who would love to take part in a medieval experience.  

Links:

• Bells for Zsofia Pathocsy

The First 10 years

Ten years, twenty-one “Save the Castle Days” events, nine archaeological sessions and uncountable memories. This is the ten years’ summary of Friends of Szadvar. This report evaluates our latest, jubilee event which was held early in October as usual in Szogliget beneath Szadvar Castle.

Before we started our anniversary commemorations we had a meeting with the director of Herman Otto Museum at Miskolc. We both asserted and declared in an agreement that we would like   to maintain the cooperation in connection with the work for Szadvar.

Drawing Competition

The program started on 7^th October with the announcement of the winners of the drawing competition which was initiated by Friends of Szadvar for the local elementary school students. The most talented children happily received the prizes which were books, pendrives and mock-ups. The school organised an exhibition with the best paintings as well.

Time Capsule and Work

Later in the afternoon we went up to the castle to place a time capsule. We put the following into the time capsule: a letter to the future finder, a coin from this year, a brochure about our Association, and of course a daily newspaper. The time capsule was inserted into the wall of the inner part of the castle. After this uplifting moment of course we worked hard too. The weed was   large enough, so we cleaned up three parts of the castle. We cut bushes and grasses at the inner part of the palace, the south part of the walls and at Csonka Bastion on Friday and also on Saturday. At this time some public workers also joined us to help.

Next Generation

Our group was complemented with high school students from a very far city. The pupils from Hild Jozsef Grammar School in Gyor are one of the best hope of the rejuvenation of the Association. Seven enthusiastic young students and their leaders – in spite of the long journey and the cold weather – they participated in all the programmes. They carried a drone and took some beautiful photos above the monument. They also made some measurements and survey for a study about it. Some teenagers said they want to come back to the castle for the summer archaeological week.

Jubilee Assembly

Saturday night was the highlight of the weekend. We held a jubilee assembly where our old members, our partners and the people from the village were invited. The local    council awarded the Friends of Szadvar with a medal for the long and hard work.

The chairman of the Association held a presentation about the ten years targets and results and the secretary showed a video composition with the most unforgettable moments. After that we cut the delicious cake and we listened to folk-songs from Szogliget’s women consort called Pávakör  .

Summary

At the end of the day we summed up not just the weekend but the excellent ten years, too. Our group has contributed to saving an almost forgotten medieval castle. We haven’t even finished the meeting but we already started to pursue our next goal. The 450th anniversary of the only known single siege is going to be in January next year. We are planning   some special features on this occasion on our next event in March to remember our heroes and talk about the unfortunate devastation and despair of our beloved castle.