Sobôtka
fortress
209m
Rimavská Sobota, Banská Bystrica county

Slight remnants of the northernmost Turkish water fortress lie in the basin of Rimavská basin, on the right bank of Rimava river, in Rimavská Sobota

https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka1.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka2.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka3.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka4.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka5.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka6.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka7.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka8.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/sobotka9.jpg
Previous names
Sabathga, Sabatz, Szabadkapuszta, Törökvár
You need to sign in to save your wishes
How to get there
Košická cesta leads through Rimavská Sobota, from which we turn to road no.72 to the city part of Sobotka. On the right side of the road is a large field, continue along the road to the end of this field, where the forest begins. It is just next to some company on the right. There's a smaller place to park the car. From there, we take a short walk back to where the field ends and move along the edge almost to the Rimava River. The small remains of Sobôtka fort are located a few meters to the left of the river. At the time of our visit, the terrain was considerably overgrown, so be careful.The fortress can also be reached from the bridge across the river, if we continue along road No.72 and turn right at the nearest turn and from the bridge walk along the river to the aforementioned place. However, this path is longer and more complicated due to the vegetations.
Description

It was the northernmost Turkish fort from the time of the Ottoman Empire. In its center, the tower was protected by four corner bastions and around the inner and outer castle flowed Rimava. There were stables, barracks, mosque, well and other residential and farm buildings.At present, the ruins are neglected, overgrown with vegetation.

History

The original Hussite fortified settlement on the right bank of the Rimava River, which was built by the Kališniks on the instructions of the Czech captain Ján Jiskra of Brandýs, was conquered in 1460 by King Matej's army and subsequently demolished. In 1555, the Mehlik of Fiľak had a new water fortress built on these ruins, one of the northernmost Turkish fortresses in Europe at all, as Rimavská Sobota and its surroundings became the northernmost place in the 16th century, reaching the Ottoman Empire. The Rimava River formed its natural moat.

Slaves from the surrounding area took part in the construction. The fence was built in the traditional way, similarly to other newly established fortresses at the time of the Turkish yoke, it was made of wooden wheels, which were sealed with crushed clay. Behind the walls of the fortress stood a tower protected by four corner bastions, there were also barracks, a mosque, a well, stables and other residential and farm buildings. For the period, it is one of the typical fortifications. It is rumored that the fortress also served as a treasury, probably the surrounding villages brought money, taxes, which the Turks levied on them in money and in kind, so as not to plunder their residences. They also established the seat of the administrative district here - the náhija.

The Turks built the so-called Turkish bridge so that the Turkish beg can comfortably transport the girls to the harem near Nižná Pokoradz. In 1593 and 1594, bloody battles were fought for the fortress. On November 9, 1593, the imperial army under the command of Košice's chief captain Krištof Tieffenbach and Humenan peasant Štefan Drugeth reoccupied the fortress and expelled the Turks from Sobotka. However, according to the last written report from 1609, Sobotka was again controlled by the Turks. After the end of the Turkish fighting, however, the fortress lost its significance and began to fall into disrepair.

In the past, two partial archaeological excavations were carried out on the building. In 1968, the first research was carried out by Zoltán Drenko, and a decade later the second research was carried out by István Kovács. However, the fortress has not yet been comprehensively discovered and examined, so it is still not clear exactly what it looked like. In 2010, the civic association Fundament initiated the project Let's save and revive the Turkish castle.

History images
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/sk/sobotka/1.jpg
Myths and legends

There are no myths available.

Useful information

The ruins are freely accessible

Nearby castles
Maginhrad5.9 km,
Ožďany7.2 km,
Hodejov10.7 km,
Blh13.4 km,
Fiľakovo18.3 km,
Soví hrad19.6 km,
Hajnáčka19.8 km,
Tornaľa24.6 km