Erdőd (Ardud)
The castle of Erdőd (in Romanian Ardud, in German Erdeed) is in the Partium which belonged to the Transylvanian Principality. More precisely, it is in the northeastern corner of the Hungarian Great Plain, between the Kraszna and the Szamos rivers, in Szatmár County. It can be found in Romania and it is 17 km from Szatmárnémeti to the south.
There is another castle called Erdőd (Erdut) in Croatia, though. Here is the link to another castle called Erdőd:
https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/ottoman-occupied-lands/erdod-erdut/
The town was first mentioned in 1215 as Herdeud, then in 1216 as Erdowd while in 1231 we find it as Erdeud. It was the birthplace of a famous Hungarian clergyman called Bakócz Tamás (1442-1521). His father was a wheel-maker / wagoner peasant of the Drágffy family, and Tamás grew up with his five brothers in poverty. However, he later became an archbishop, a cardinal, and a statesman. (Please, note that I use the Eastern name order for Hungarian names where family names come first.)
It was the Hungarian lord called Drágffy Bertalan who had Erdőd castle constructed in 1481. The Drágffy family used to be landowners in the area between 1392 and the mid-1500s. The thick and high walls were guarded by five strong towers, their construction may have been completed by 1500. The first castellan’s name was mentioned in 1504.
Erdőd was the castle where the Protestants of Transylvania laid down the foundations of their faith in 12 points in 1545. The next Protestant Synod was held there in 1555. The castle belonged to the Báthori family in 1565 when the army of Habsburg Maximilian, led by Lázár Schwendi took it by a siege. It was during the Dual Kingship of Hungary, and Maximilian’s opponent, King János Zsigmond took the fort back in 1565 and had it ruined.
The area became the property of the Károlyi family in the 17th century. Lord Károlyi Sándor had his palace built there between 1727 and 1730 by using the stones of the old castle. The palace is famous for a wedding: Petőfi Sándor, the famous Hungarian poet wed Szendrey Júlia there in 1847.
Now we can see only some nicely renovated parts of the buildings because the rest had been destroyed in WWII.
Here are a few more pictures of Erdőd Castle:
