Bacskó

Bacskó (Bačkov) is a village in the Kassa / Kosice region in Slovakia, it has a ruined castle that was built in the Kingdom of Hungary. The first documented mention of the settlement of Bacskó is known as “Bachkow” from 1320. It was a part of the nearby castle of Borostyán (Purustyan), which was taken from Petenye’s son Péter by King Károly Róbert following his rebellion in 1317. Location: https://tinyurl.com/bdfrnr3f

In his charter of 10 February 1321, the king donated the castle of Borostyán and its appurtenances to the Baksa family in exchange for the Patak manor:

“…- on the advice of the chief priests and barons, Péter is deprived of the castle of Purustyan and all its appurtenances in Zemplén County: Sceech, both Bochkow, Kereplye, 3 Vysnou, Palyanka, Tehna, Petrusfolua, Pernou, Kohan, Guerenda, Zebegneu, Albun, Torna and Kenchesandrasfolwa, all of them with customs and market for their loyal service, and the castle of Potok-Pothok and its appurtenances: Vyhel, Ordou, Borsy, Kuachi, Tay and Toronya, and the possessions of Zeuleus, Lodomuch, and Zemlen on the Budrug river side of the castle, and the possessions of Redmuch, Sasy, Vyl inherited from Zemplén County – to the present sons of Tamás, namely László and Donch, the sons of Boxa, namely Miklós and Ferenc, the sons of Detricus, namely Miklós, István and Simon, the sons of György, namely János and Péter, the son of Dénes, namely Gergely, the son of Simon called Tamás, in exchange for their villages.”

In 1329, the Boksa (Baksa/Boxa) clan shared their hereditary estates. Kis Bacskó and Nagy Bacskó were listed as belonging to the castle of Porosthyan (“item Kencbeck Andreashaza et Kis Bachkow similiter ad castrum Porosthyan pertinentes cum universis utilitatibus suis preter silvam, in eodem comitatu Zemlyn situate […] Nog Backow, Kis Bachkow, …”). The two Bacskos remained in common ownership. Borostyán Castle was mentioned in 1355, but not afterward. Some researchers suggest the castle was built after its abandonment, but it is more likely built in the 15th century. By then, the Bocskais from the Boksa clan were the main owners.

In 1647 King Ferdinand III donated a part of Bacskó to the Transylvanian Prince Rákóczi György I and his wife, Lórántffy Zsuzsanna, but the larger part of the village with the casellum remained with the Bocskai family.

Bocskai István, as the chief man of Prince Rákóczi I Ferenc and as the chief Comes of Zemplén County, got involved in the Wesselényi conspiracy and “forcibly” captured the castle of Ónod from the Imperials. On 8 June 1670, the camp of the Abaúj and Zemplén rebels at Tőketerebes was dispersed as von Sporck’s imperial troops approached, and Bocskai fled to Huszt, where he was followed by his wife, Török Katalin, from the castle of Bacskó. Emperor Leopold confiscated all of Bocskai’s possessions, including the Bacskó castle.

Bocskai died in Transylvania in 1672 without a son, and the family died out with him. The estates were administered by the Szepes Chamber. A census of Bacskó dated 10 April 1671 noted that the castle had been destroyed by German soldiers. The building at that time had a ground floor, rectangular plan with towers at the corners, and a separate tower. The castellum was surrounded by an unnamed fortification, which may have been a palisade and a moat.

The castle was described as ruined in a 1680s document. According to a document of 1688 (“Conscriptio Bonorum ad Castellum Bacsko…”), the castle, the manor house, and part of the farm buildings were destroyed by the Kuruc forces.

In 1688, the king sold the Bacskó manor to Fischer Mihály for his involvement in the Caraffa court martial. In the 1730s, Bél Mátyás also described Bacskó Castle: “The western end of the village is occupied by a castle built by the Botskai, in the old-world style, with four one-story towers, but quite high. This, however, is now more beautifully laid out, and is cared for by B. Fischer, governor of the Cassoviensis treasury, lord of this village”.

Around 1750, Baron Fischer József had a new mansion built on the site of the ruined castellum. In the second half of the 18th century, after the ownership of Fischer István, it passed into the hands of the female heirs. In the early 20th century it belonged to Baron Wersebe Hartwig. The castle was destroyed in the Second World War and has been a ruin ever since.

Nowadays the ruins of the manor house are completely neglected and we (Várlexikon) could only take a photo of it in the weeds (June 2023).

Source: http://www.varlexikon.hu

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Here are a few more pictures of Bacskó Castle: