The History of the Reconstruction of the Castle in Sümeg
Text: András Koppány

The castle of Sümeg has a history of almost 70 years in the modern times. This reconstruction history is also an injury report of interventions meant to protect and preserve historic buildings and monuments. These are modern „periods” that have fragmentary links in-between them, and more often than not involved constructions and demolitions made to facilitate utility instead of restoring historic buildings in an authentic way. The continuous deterioration of the castle, the original medieval walls and later restorations and built modern additions and extensions, the nonstop amortization and damage of the reconstructions necessitated from time to time to work on the complex. After continuous and partial remodellings and renovations the project to comprehensively survey and research the castle within the framework of the National Castle and Palace Programme was launched in 2016 which is ongoing as of today and also involves the creation of concepts, the preservation of structural conditions, restoration and extensions in the scheme. This project has not been completed yet, and the castle is due to reach its ultimate glory and spectacle in 2022 to welcome visitors.