Siklós

Siklós lies in southern Hungary beneath a castle that was home to some of the kingdom's greatest noble families. The Garai family enlarged the medieval stronghold into an imposing residence, with decorated halls and a Gothic chapel. Its walls guarded the approaches to the Drava and the southern frontier.

During a baronial revolt in 1401, King Sigismund was held at Siklós for five months. The castle later passed to the Perényi family, who strengthened its defences as Ottoman armies approached. After the defeat at Mohács in 1526, Dorottya Kanizsai travelled from Siklós to the battlefield to bury the dead. The Ottomans captured the castle after a short siege in 1543 and held it until 1686. Imperial general Aeneas Caprara then began rebuilding the damaged stronghold.