The famous castle of Nógrád has been renovated, the settlement has been enriched with an adventure centre

The renovation of the Old Village and the castle in Hollókő, Nógrád County, has been completed. According to MTI, the Old Village has been enriched with a gastronomic experience centre, and unique interactive content has been created in the castle towering above the village, the Hollókő municipality informed MTI.

The Memorial Park and the restaurant have also been improved

As they explained: a gastronomic experience centre has been created on the main street of the Old Village, on the site of the current Castle Restaurant and its surroundings, with a Palóc gastronomic history exhibition space, a cooking school and service facilities. 

The investment included the expansion of the Dr. András Román Visitor Centre, the development of the Masinás Restaurant and the Millennium Memorial Park, as well as the expansion of the parking lot. The existing car park has been extended with an additional 57 parking spaces for cars and 2 barrier-free family car parks with 257 spaces.

Since the post-Tatar era, the settlement has been guarded by the castle

In addition to conservation, the castle has been enriched with a number of interactive features, such as a guided tour of the entire castle on a tablet. In addition to the interactive castle history exhibition, there is also a medieval escape room, where visitors can follow a newly designed visitor route through all levels of the castle.   

The castle of Hollókő was built by the Illés branch of the Kacsics clan after the Tatar invasion on the rock near the village, while the lower levels of the old tower were probably built by András Kacsics before the Tatar invasion. The fortifications were gradually extended over the centuries, with the addition of ramparts, bastions, dwellings and cisterns to the original 13th century walls.

The aim was to attract less seasonality

The development received HUF 1.1 billion in non-refundable funding under the Széchenyi 2020 programme's Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme (GINOP). The municipality was a consortium partner of the Hollókő World Heritage Nonprofit Kft., the Visit Hungary Nonprofit Zrt. and the Hungarian Tourism Agency. 

The aim of the competition was to create a less seasonal attraction in and around the Old Village, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1987.

As a result of the investment, the number of visitors could increase by 30,000 a year within a few years, the statement said, adding that the village's tourist load will not increase because the development will reduce seasonality.  

Hollókő was listed as a historical monument with the help of András Román. In his honour, the visitor house bearing his name was built in 2005, an information and refreshment point, and the building also hosts events.