The cosy town of Nyírbátor is situated in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. The settlement is well-known for its lay and religious buildings from the 15th-16th century and also the former lords of the land, the members of the Báthory family. In the mediaeval ages the city flourished as a cultural and trading centre, its heyday lasted for a long period of time. The first historical sources mentioning the keep dates back to the year of 1549, in addition, in the 15th-16th centuries when the construction was ended the building bared renaissance marks and so it became the most significant late gothic monument.
An outstanding fraction of the settlement history is that István Báthori (1393-1444) magistrate was the member of the Dragon Order knighthood founded by King Zsigmond Luxemburg and his wife Queen Borbála in 1408. Regarding as a precedent, the Hungarian knights formed the Saint Gorge knighthood with the approval of King Róbert Károly in 1326 and vowed to protect the country and knightly virtue. Moreover, the events of the first part of the 15th century such as the Hussite War and increasing Ottoman threat led to the oblivion of the Saint George knighthood, however, King Zsigmond revived the order and ideal.
Báthori Erzsébet countess, who was born here in 1560, possessed a great fortune for which she was arrested by György Thurzó palatine influenced by his hostility and the Hapsburgs, forced her to attend to a show trial in order to take away her wealth. The cousin of the countess, Gábor Báthory the Duke of Transylvania was considered to be the enemy of the Hapsburg.
The chateau, which was renovated in 2006, awaits the visitors with its park. The friary of the Minorits houses the Báthori István Museum with its overall collection and exhibition of the town’s rich history.

Further information: www.nyirbator.hu, www.bathorivarkastely.hu