SeeUinHungary.com - Sarospatak, Rakoczi Castle, Tokaj wineregion

Sarospatak

A jewel among the historic towns of Hungary, Sarospatak lies at the foot of the Zemplen Hills on the River Bodrog and is a much visited cultural and tourist centre. Its very name conjures up those lions of the War of Independence, Prince Rakoczi and his followers.

The present face the town offers is a happy blend of the modern and the many buildings designated as histroic monuments.

Sarospatak was the birth place of Saint Elizabeth in 1207.
Attractions in Sarospatak :

Rakoczi Castle
Sarospatak was a royal possession from the 11th century on. Between 1534 and 1541 Peter Perenyi erected a large five-floored tower as residental quarters at the south-east corner of the walls. Hungarian master builders completed the caslte complex in a late Renaissance style, to the plans of Allessandro Vedani, the Italian architect.
The fragments of Romanesque and Gothic carvings are what remains of the Dominican monsatery and the castle. The Perenyi wing on the north was built between 1540 and 1567. In 1616 its proprietor, Zsuzsanna Lorantffy wed the later Prince of Transylvania, Gyorgy Rakoczi 2nd. In this way Sarospatak became the centre of the Rakoczi possessions. From 1640 the castle's defences were strengthened and the Lorantffy wing added the logia and the platfrom for cannon. From 1676 the castle was helf by Ferenc Rakoczi, its defences were ordered torn down by Emperor in 1702. It was restored in the Baroque style by the Trautson princes and in the Romantic by Bretzenheim princes, while preserving its Renaissance elements. From 1875 it was owned by princes Windischgratz and from 1945 by the Hungarian state, from 1950 the Museum has helf the Rakoczi inheritance.

Opening hourse : Tue-Sun 10am - 6pm

Calvinist Collegium

The first phase of the history of the Collegium begins in 1531 with the munifiscenceof the lord of the castle, Peter Perenyi and later with the generosity of Gyorgy Rakoczi and his wife. They provided approriate buildings for the school, its teachers, its magnificent libarary and drew up the regulations under which it was run. In the Collegium, primary, secondary and higher education were built on each other, from time to time different type of school were established. In Sarospatak, alongside Theology, Art and Law, later Pedagogy received emphasis. Over the centuries, the Collegium has been the centre of the town's life. A citadel of classical education, Hungarian writers have bestowed on Sarospatak titles such as Athens on the Bodrog, the seat of the Muses and later, because of the English diplomas it began to award, the Hungarian Cambridge.

Opening hours :
The library : Mon-Sat 9am till 5pm, Sun 9am till 1pm
Reformed Collegium : Mon-Sat 9am till 5pm, Sun 9am till 1pm