Esztergom Basilica and Castle

The castle of Esztergom stands on a hill rising on the right bank of the Danube, more than fifty meters high, bordered by rifted side walls, in the old town of Esztergom in Komárom-Esztergom county. The castle is an outstanding place in the medieval history of Hungary. The Castle Theater, the Esztergom Castle Museum of the Hungarian National Museum and the Panopticon also operate in the southern part. The building complex was awarded the title of European Heritage Site in 2008 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as one of the main sights of Esztergom, together with the basilica. A replica of the castle, built in Ankara, Turkey, was inaugurated in 2005 by Estergon Kalesi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esztergomi_v%C3%A1r

Esztergom Castle (Hungarian Esztergomi vár) is a hilltop castle located 60 kilometers north-west of Budapest on the Danube, of great importance in Ottoman history.
The castle was conquered on August 3, 1543 by the Ottomans under the rule of Suleyman I. It was incorporated with its surroundings into the Buda region. But in 1594 a large army consisting of Germans, Poles and Venetians surrounded the castle. In contrast to the attacking army, the defending army was very small. Since Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was not in the castle, it was defended by his son, Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha. But in the end the Ottomans had to surrender due to hunger and thirst.The Ottomans besieged the castle in 1605 to recapture it. On September 25, 1605, Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha, who had meanwhile become vizier, recaptured the castle after a 30-day siege. After the failure of the second Siege of Vienna (1683), the Holy Roman Empire and European powers formed the Holy League and snatched Hungary entirely from Ottoman hands.

When crossing the border bridge from Slovakia to Hungary, the first thing you see is the impressive castle.