On Thursday 6 March, the knights of the Order of St George finally returned to the Salamon Tower, the home of their events.
For decades, the Solomon Tower – and in particular its jousting arena – has been synonymous with the world of jousting displays for visitors to Visegrád, as these spectacular events take place there several times a week.
The Lower Castle (as the lower element of the dual castle system, which together with the upper castle forms a single complex, is in fact Solomon’s Tower) hosts regular demonstrations in the courtyard of its residential tower, where visitors can take a comfortable seat in the covered grandstand, and from there, with an excellent view of the jousting arena, we can enjoy these unique programmes from early spring until the end of autumn.
Today, similar events are held in numerous towns, but to anyone with even the slightest interest in the world of medieval military re-enactment, we are proud to say that this is our alma mater, as it was here, under the leadership of László Cseke, that it all began in the 1980s. Accordingly, to this day we can boast one of the most spectacular and energetic jousting displays – certainly as far as the era we are re-enacting is concerned.
The reign of King Charles I – long erroneously referred to as Charles Robert – offering a glimpse into the world of the early 1300s through the combat techniques, costumes, armaments and surroundings demonstrated by the knights. It was Charles I who convened the famous royal summit at Visegrád (commemorated every summer by the Visegrád International Palace Games). It was around this time (though more towards the end of the period) that the first, rudimentary muskets appeared; however, the Hungarian reflex bow, the English bow, the sabre, the battle star, and even the sling were just as much a part of the arsenal of warfare as the crossbow—which was banned by Pope Eugene III in 1139 but remained in use nonetheless. All of these weapons can be seen during the demonstrations at Visegrád in Solomon’s Tower, naturally in use, and the more daring visitors may even try out a few of them after the show.
2025.03.07.
