Užhorod

Užhorod stands on the Uzh River at the southwestern foot of the Carpathians. Long known as Ungvár, the town grew beneath a castle belonging to the Drugeth family. Its position near the mountain approaches made the fortress a prize in struggles between the Habsburgs and the princes of Transylvania after the division of Hungary.

On 24 April 1646, sixty-three Orthodox priests joined the Catholic Church at Užhorod Castle, beginning a union that retained the Eastern rite and shaped the religious history of the region. Later the castle passed to Miklós Bercsényi, who strengthened its walls and assembled a library and collections there. During the uprising of Francis II Rákóczi, further work gave the palace an arcaded courtyard. A fire damaged the castle in 1728; after repairs, it eventually passed to the Greek Catholic bishopric of Mukachevo.