Hungarian castle to serve as filming location to The Witcher

Foreign productions have long noticed Hungary’s great filming locations, but so far Budapest proved to be the most frequented venue. However, now another piece of Hungarian history was chosen as a filming location: Tata Castle, located on the shore of Old Lake (Öreg-tó).

One of the most popular Netflix series, The Witcher has scenes shot at a Hungarian castle. In 1397, Tata was acquired by King Zsigmond from the Lackfi family after they were accused of being disloyal to the king. The king spent a long time there in 1409, so it is possible that his residence was built before his stay.

The castle was home to diplomatic events as well.

Later, the castle changed owners and it became the Rozgonyi family’s property. However, in 1472, Mátyás got hold of it again. After his passing, Ulászló II. used the castle as one of his residences. After the battle at Mohács, the castle served another purpose. It became a strategically important building, and played a role in protecting Hungary from Turkish armies. Thanks to the castle, residents were able to save some time, not allowing the foreign army to simply trespass and advance in their journey to other territories. Now the castle is home to exhibitions. – writes kunymuzeum.hu. Hellovidek also notes that the castle was not built as a defense center. It was constructed as a hunting castle or summer residence.

The castle also has elements of various architectural styles, such as renaissance, baroque, and romanticism. Besides, this is the only castle in Hungary surrounded by the original water protection system.

The castle is rich both in history and unique architectural elements. But where can the fans of The Witcher actually see the Hungarian building? The fabulous castle serves as Yennefer’s home in the series. The mysterious castle can be seen wrapped in the twilight on the shores of the lake. But if the plain sight was not enough, at the end of episode 5 of the first season, the top floor of the castle can be seen collapsing. Of course, this is due to special effects, and not actual destruction.