Rohonc

The castle on one of the hills nearby built in the 13th century, which is in its ruins only, was first mentioned in historical records in 1265. Its first known owners were members of Ják clan. In 1404 it was seized by Sigismund of Luxemburg from the heirs of Németújváry family and was given to Miklós Garai. In 1445 it was captured by Frederick III and became an Austrian mortgage for a long time. Although King Matthias Corvinus took it out of mortgage, it was damaged so much during the siege that it was not rebuilt again. After that the town became the centre of the estate. In the Middle Ages it consisted of two parts. One of them was called Ungarmarkt while the other was called Deutschmarkt. Ferenc Batthyány obtained it in the 16th century. The settlement was given the right to have markets and it was promoted to the rank of market town at the end of the 15th century. The palace built at the beginning of the 17th century was demolished by Austrian mercenary troops during Bethlen-campaign and it had to be rebuilt. The large Baroque building was demolished in 1945. Faludi Ferenc, who was a great poet in the 18th century, spent the last years of his life in the town. A street and also a valley next to the town were named after him. Kristóf Batthyány built St Catherine parish church in 1679 and it was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1727. On the Mary statue in front of the church a Pieta-scene can be seen. It was erected in the 1700s. The Lutheran church was built in classicist style in 1783 and it was extended with a neo-gothic tower in 1867. The unique Baroque three-storey granary (Granárium) was built in the 17th century. The highest peak of the mountain and even the Transdanubian region called Írottkő (Written Stone / Geschriebenstein) belongs to the border of the settlement. It was named after a stone with some scripts on the top. The estates of Batthyány and Eszterházy family and boundaries of Kőszeg also met at this point. The former name of the mountain was Szálkő, which was used from the 17th century. According to current research, it was known as Fenyőhegy (Pine-mountain)
in the 14th century. In 1891 a wooden watch-tower was built here. In 1913 a new one was built of stone on its place. After 1945 it was accessible only from the Austrian side. Now it can be visited from both countries.