The delicate minaret, 40 metres high with 14 sides, reminds the observer of nearly one hundred years of Turkish rule, from 1596. From its balcony a unique panorama of the town can be seen.
The Minaret of Eger is the northernmost historical building of the Turkish era in Europe. It was built shortly after the Turks victory in 1596 and it used to belong to the Djami of Kethuda. The 40-metre-high minaret was made of red sandstone, and it has a fourteen-sided ground plan.
After Eger was recaptured in 1687 by imperial forces, the people of the town tried to demolish the tower with 400 oxen, however, it seemed tough enough to resist this euphoric reveal of sudden freedom. Reaching the narrow balcony of it requires climbing up 97 small but high steps, however, it is well worth the effort as there is a unique panorama of the town from up there.
The history of the Minaret:
The minaret (or minare) and the djami on its east side - which was pulled down later on - must have been built at the beginning of the Turkish era, i.e at the beginning of the 17th century. The djami (Friday mosque) of Eger was first mentioned by Evlija Cselebi, a famous Turkish traveller, who came to the town in 1664.
After Eger was recaptured on December 17th 1687, the building of the djami was handed over to the Catholics, who converted it and used it as a prebendal church dedicated to St. Joseph. Then, Bishop Erdődy endowed the converted djami to the order of St. John (Ordo Hospitalarius) so that they could use it as a chapel for their hospital which was being built nearby. In 1730, the order had the roof re-covered, and the original Turkish conical crown must have been replaced by a hipped roof, or maybe a complete new roof was built instead of the old crown as it had been destroyed previously. In 1744, a vestry was added to the church.
The top of the building collapsed in the 19th century. We probably would not be able to visit the building today if Archbishop Pyrker János László had not ordered to cover the top of the ramshackle tower in 1829. It was covered with sheet metal and at the same time, a cross was put on the crescent. In 1841, the Order of St.John started to build a new church with the support of Archbishop Pyrker near the original djami, which was, as a consequence, pulled down to give room for a real Christian church. The stones of the old djami were used to build the new church.
The Minaret was first renovated by the National Committee for Historic Monuments in 1897. The plans were made by István Möller. This time a new conical crown made of red sandstone was added to the Minaret. In 1962, further conservation was carried out by the National Committee for Historic Monuments.
The first illustration of the minare and the djami date back to 1823; it is a tint-drawing in which the crown of the minare is a truncated cone. There are some further illustrations – lithographs – made before 1829 by an unknown artist, which vaguely show the carved ornaments of the minare as well. In illustrations made later on in the 19th century, the Minaret has got the sheet metal conical crown commissioned by Archbishop Pyrker. (One of the earliest illustrations of this kind dates back to 1838.)
The djami was demolished in 1841 in the course of the city re-planning. Then, pictures – mainly from the fifties - show the minaret on its own but still having the ‘Pyrker crown’. The minaret was renovated in the 1960s, and stabilised inside in the 1970s. The Turkish crescent was not removed from the top. Since 1997, some 350 years after the legendary battle, the sound of the muezzin calling can once again be heard in a summer event series.
Of the three minarets remaining in Hungary (Pécs, Érd, Eger), this is the tallest and the best preserved one.
ikonnal bővítheti túráját.
