"Eger Castle" Top 5 Page for this destination Eger Things to Do Tip by Ben-UK

Dating back to the 13th century, the castle became part of Hungarian folklore following the heroic defence against the Turks in 1552.

2,000 Eger heroes held out for 38 days against an invading force of 60,000 -- the Turks retreated in defeat.

During the siege, the Eger forces, led by Dobo Istvan, drank large quantities of the local wine -- their red, wine-stained beards gave the Turks the excuse that the Eger forces had been drinking the blood of bulls to give them extra strength -- hence the name Bull's Blood wine.

However, Bull's Blood or not, the Turks returned in 1599 and this time conquered the town and then controlled the region for almost a century.

Today the castle house various exhibitions, but even if you don't want to see any of those, it's worth making the climb up the hill to see the magnificent views from the castle.

Directions: Overlooking the town -- just follow the signs.