Szécsény

Szécsény, this pleasant city on the frontier, can be found on the terrace of the River Ipoly, among the protruding hills of the Cserhát. The number of its inhabitants is 6500 persons together with the adherent Pösténypuszta and Benczúrfalva.

King Károly Róbert (Charles Robert of Anjou) granted the status of town to Szécsény in his charter issued 5 May 1334, when the settlement received privileges similar to that of the town of Buda. One of the greatest events of the Rákóczi war of independence, the Szécsény congress of 1705 is connected to the town, in the course of which II. Ferenc Rákóczi was elected leading monarch by the states. Visitors can get to know the city’s rich history through its significant monuments.

The Franciscan church was built in the 14th century on the basis of the certificate of foundation received from the pope in 1332. Its star-vaulted sacristy is one of the most beautiful Gothic halls of the country. The Franciscan monastery was built together with the church in which the memorial statue of Rákóczi is to be seen. According to tradition the leading monarch lived here during the period of the congress. Szécsény was fortified by a castle and surrounded by a wall already in the 15th century. The remains of the castle wall and the surviving bastions are still standing as witnesses of these times.

The Forgách Castle, one of the city’s most spectacular buildings, which was constructed from the stones of the medieval interior castle around 1760, is a precious element of the Hungarian country Baroque architecture, and at present the home of the Ferenc Kubinyi Museum. One of the town’s main characteristics, the “leaning tower” of Szécsény is standing in the city centre. The building that used to be a Fire Tower is visibly leaning in the northern direction as a result of a World War II bombing. The tower houses an exhibition entitled “The History of Fire-fighting”.

The renovated historical city centre with its atmospheric streets, squares offers pleasant recreation for visitors.