Eger Things to Do

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The Minorite Church, situated along the Dobó tér, is regarded as one the most beautiful Baroque churches in Europe. It's building was finished in 1767. You can listen to the bell chimes at 11.00, 15.00 and 18.00, every day.

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Dobó István tér is the focal point of Eger - it was the market square from medieval time. It's a pleasant place for a coffee brake since it's more or less surrounded of cafés and restaurants, either directly or indirectly. There is a little green area between the square (= tér) and the cafés and shops on the side opposite the church.
What catches the eye in the square is the statue commemorating the defending power of the ~2.000 citizens in the castle who defeated the enormous Turkish army of 40-50.000 soldiers in the siege 1552. The defenders under the leadership of Captain Dobó István forced the enemy to withdraw themselves after about 40 days.

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The minaret is the northenmost minaret from the Turks still standing in Europe.It was built during the occupation which lasted from 1596 to 1687. It is 40 m high, built of carved sandstone. The base has 14 sides. You can take the stairs inside up to the balcony, but it's narrow inside and the 97 spiral steps can easily make anyone dizzy.
It is open from April 1 to October 31, Mon - Sunday, 10.00 - 18.00.

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The castle was built a little bit too late - it was built shortly after the Mongol attack in 1241. Luckily it didn't have to come into use until the 1552 Turkish attack, but at that time it wasn't in the best shape. What the Turks didn't manage to do, the Habsburgs did in 1702, (15 years after the Turks left after their occupation 1596 - 1687) when they blew it up to prevent any attempts of opposition from the Hungarians.
The oldest remains inside the castle walls are the ruined foundations of a Romanesque cathedral from the 10th or 11th century. You find it in the eastern part of the area.
There are nowadays a great many different museums in the castle area, such as the Castle Museum (of course), a stonework museum, a prison museum, a waxworks museum and a mint, among others.

Opening hours:
April - August 08.00 - 20.00
September 08.00 - 19.00
October - March 08.00 - 17.00
Entrance 700 HUF for adults.

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The Hortabágy National Park, south of Eger, has a number of rangers and we were fortunate to secure the assistance of one chap who worked on a special project to protect and study the Great Bustards, large impressive birds and an icon for the Park. For a fee we were taken out in his landrover deep into the Park. By standing on the roof of his vehicle he could scan the horizon. We had several stops before he finally spotted some of our target birds. By going off road and getting out on foot we were able get decent views through the telescope of 16 females striding out through the grassland.
They are spectacular looking birds - turkey sized but much sleeker and considerably shyer. Their strong, sturdy legs suggest they would be able to run fast. Apparently in October the sexes divide into gender groups. I would liked to have seen a male to compare it with the females but maybe that is for a return visit?
The Great Bustard is the representative bird of the National Park and it's very pleasing to see that major efforts are being made to secure its protection. Visitors such as myself encourage further investment into the Park which in turn will secure a strong, brighter future for these wonderful creatures. If you want to see what they look like click on the website below.

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My guide took us to a bird ringing centre out in the woodlands where we joined the trained ringer who was demonstrating his activities to a group of college students. It was good to see the care with which he handled the birds. One of the students also recorded assiduously all of the different measurements taken on each of the birds captured. Each bird was also weighed in a small canvas bag before the small metal ring was applied to its leg. Let's hope some are re-captured and the code number recorded. It is by this means that the birding authorities can monitor the movements of individual birds and gain other information on their age and physical condition between capture points.

We were later taken to see the mist nets that had been strung out across a natural corridor in the woods. Birds flying down this open space would fly haplessly into the net and soon become ensnared. It is the task of the ringer to rescue the birds from the net and to then take the measurements before the actual ringing and release.

The photo shows a Goldcrest and the second a female Bullfinch. Both birds flew away happily and unharmed.

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If you visit this place you can see how proud is people in Eger about your history.During the Turkish occupation of Hungary, Eger became an important border fortress. The 1552 Siege of Eger was a miraculous defence by Hungarian forces in the face of overwhelming odds. Under the command of Captain István Dobó the defenders of the castle (fewer than 2,100 people, including women and children) successfully fought back a Turkish army of 80,000 soldiers.
In 1596, a bigger army of the Turks attacked Eger, and took the castle after a short siege.

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With entry ticket 1200ft you can see the following exhibitions
The history of Eger castle,gothic palace;gallery,dungeons.
In underground passageways you can enter only with group tour.
For weapon exhibition,waxworks and mint(we dident visit this)
you must pay seperate but is very cheap.