Salgo Castle

Salgo sits on top of a basalt plug at around 625 metres, the hard core of an old volcano left standing after the softer rock around it eroded away, and the castle built on it in the thirteenth century had almost nothing to do but occupy the summit: a tower, a small courtyard and walls following the shape of the rock, taken by the Ottomans in 1554 and abandoned afterwards. The climb is short but steep, on steps and rock, and the reward is a view across the Nograd hills into Slovakia, with the ruin of Somosko castle visible on the border ridge, a castle that is now half in each country. Petofi visited and wrote about it, which is why Hungarians know the name.

History

The Kacsics clan, lords of these hills, first built a square stone tower here in the 13th century because of the Mongol invasions of 1241-1242, and King Béla IV later had it fortified. In 1460 the Hussites took the castle, King Matthias recaptured it the same year and gave it to Imre Szapolyai, beginning its golden age; in the 16th century a large pentagonal bastion was added, but the Ottomans took it and shelled it to ruins, and although Michael Pálffy and Christof Tieffenbach retook it in 1593, it was left as a ruin, which the poet Sándor Petőfi climbed in 1845 (Wikipedia, Salgó Castle).

What's there

• A castle on a volcanic plug - walls following the shape of the basalt core.
• Views into Slovakia - the Novohrad hills across the border.
• Somosko on the border ridge - the neighbouring castle split by the frontier.
• The basalt columns below - the rock exposed on the approach.

When to go

April to October; the path is slippery and exposed in ice. Two to three hours including the climb. Clear days matter for the view, which is the point.

What to expect

The castle is small and the ruin takes fifteen minutes; the walk and the view carry the visit. The final approach is steep with steps and handrails. Salgotarjan below is a declining industrial town with limited services.

Nearby

Somosko is on the border; Ipolytarnoc lies west.