Central Europe’s most special festival is coming, where you too can defeat the Turks
May 24-26, 2024
On this coming week-end those interested can witness the spectacular clashes between Hungarian and Turkish armies from the past on the banks of the Old Lake at Tata. Traditionalists dressed in period clothes will relive the events and interesting facts of the siege of Tata Castle 427 years ago. The “miracle weapon” of the age, the patara, will be also introduced. On this anniversary day of May, the 1597 siege of Győr, the Tata garrison, is regarded as Győr’s outpost at the end of the century, recalls the events of the time and commemorates the Komárom castle captain Count Miklós Pálffy, who captured the castle using a new weapon, the patara, and his heroic soldiers, as well as the Ottoman armies that confronted them.
The three-day series of events will welcome visitors on the shores of Öreg-tó between May 24 and 26. The opening ceremony of the event will take place on Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. in Tata’s Castle Square. At the event, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of National Defense of Hungary, patron of the “Tatai Patara 1597” Turkish Period History Festival, will be holding a welcome speech.
Dressed in period clothes and equipped with authentic weapons, the reenactors re-enact the battles between the Hungarian and Turkish armies that took place 427 years ago based on the surviving historical documents, such as Count Miklós Pálffy’s victory report.
At the event, more than 500 traditionalists present the muskets, mortar cannons and falconettes of the period in action to the interested parties. May see equestrian and archery demonstrations. On the spot also to ease the thirt and hunger, the finest wines of the Neszmély wine region and the masterpieces of Turkish cuisine. On the “Deák-Patara” and National Defense Day “time travel”, arriving students can learn about the history of Hungary under the Turkish occupation, while “Aprajafalv”a” = Small kids village awaits their presence.
At the event, the 1st Armored Brigade of Tata’s MH Klapka György awaits the curious with a military technology demonstration, while visitors to the site can choose products of true to age from the 135 artisan vendors.
There will be a spectacular element of the program series on Friday evening, after the volley of muskets, fireworks launched from the nasadas lit up with torches on the Old Lake, as well as the siege brightened by the deployment of the patara on Sunday afternoon, and the hoisting of the Hungarian flag on the castle promontory.
History and the patara in brief: At the end of the 19th century, Tata Castle, as a suburb of Komárom and Győr, changed hands several times. In May 1597, the forces led by Count Miklós Miklós, the castle captain of Komárom, approached the fortress hidden from Dunaalmás, and after the arrival of the expected reinforcements from Esztergom, they began the attack on May 23, in the evening hours. Here in Hungary, the patara, operated by military engineer Johann Bernstein, was deployed for the first time. It was a bell-shaped device made of bronze and filled with gunpowder, and after it was ignited, it burst through the castle gate and opened the way for the besieging royal armies.
May your week-end be filled with entertainment rolling back in time.
Recommendation by Aggie Reiter
Rolling in Budapest 