Nagyecsed

Ecsed stood beside the vast marshes of the Kraszna, where the Báthory family held a castle protected by water and wetlands. The fortress was a major centre of their extensive estates and later passed to the Rákóczi family. Its church and school were closely bound to the privileges of the market town.

In the seventeenth century disputes over religion and municipal rights set the inhabitants against their owner, Zsófia Báthory. During the rising of Francis II Rákóczi, Ecsed became an important supply base for the rebel forces, and the prince restored its fortress by 1708 and confirmed the town's old privileges. After the war the fortifications were dismantled, ending the military role of the castle that had long dominated the marshland.