Siklos Castle

Siklos is unusual among Hungarian castles in never having been destroyed and abandoned: it was held through the Ottoman period, adapted afterwards, and has been in continuous use ever since, so what stands is a layered building rather than a ruin, with medieval walls and bastions, a Gothic chapel with fine net vaulting and carved detail, Renaissance and Baroque residential wings and a courtyard. A castle museum runs through the rooms, including a display on the Ottoman century and the dungeon. The town below keeps a small Ottoman mosque converted to other use, and the Villany wine villages and the Harkany thermal baths are both within a few kilometres.

What you actually see

• A castle never left to ruin - continuous occupation since the Middle Ages.
• The Gothic chapel vault - carved net vaulting inside the walls.
• Layered building periods - medieval, Renaissance and Baroque in one structure.
• The Ottoman mosque in the town - a survival from the occupation.

When to go

April to October. Two to three hours. Combine with Villany or Harkany, both close. Closed some Mondays.

Honest expectations

Museum displays are dated in places and mostly labelled in Hungarian. The castle is smaller inside than the walls suggest. Siklos town itself is unremarkable.

Nearby

Harkany spa is west; Villany and its cellars lie east.