Built on volcanic rock, Filakovo Castle and the town beneath it are located near the border between Slovakia and Hungary.
When Filakovo Castle was built, which is said to have been sometime by the 12th century, the area belonged to Hungary, as did most of present-day Slovakia. It would later be expanded both in the 15th and 16th centuries, the latter improvements a futile attempt to defend it against the Ottomans.
The most interesting period of Filakovo history is from the 16th century, particularly from 1554 when it was taken by the Ottoman Empire. The town belonged to the Turks for forty years, and was made the seat of a sanjak or administrative district of the Empirehence the palm tree on Filakovo’s coat of arms.
In the late 17th century, Filakovo Castle was burned and abandoned. The main tower, known as Bebek’s Tower, now houses a permanent exhibit on the castle’s history. It includes objects from the Ottoman and Hungarian periods.
