Besides the Obvious

The Bory Castle – in Hungarian is called the Bory-vár – is a special group of buildings in the Old Valley of Székesfehérvár, in the Mária Valley, built and decorated by Jenő Bory (1879–1959), an architect, sculptor and painter from Székesfehérvár, Hungary.

The history of Bory Castle in Székesfehérvár

He built this place for decades, commemorating his marital love and artistic dreams. Bory began building the castle in 1923 and worked on it for the rest of his life as his love project. The building was not only the home of the Bory family. It was also a huge studio for the works of the architect and his wife, the painter Ilona Komócsin (1885–1974), but also the works of other famous painters and sculptors. Bory intended the building itself as an independent work of art.

The building wasn’t planned at a table but on the location. Bory was the architect, the project supervisor, the foreman and also the mason. He was building, developing and decorating this wonderful work of art since the beginning with the help of just a few helpers.

About the architecture of Bory Castle

The castle is more than 30 meters high from its dungeon to the top of the tallest towers. Seven towers, thirty smaller and larger rooms, including three studios, sculptures, pictures, antiques, artefacts everywhere. It is interesting that the raw material of the castle is concrete, which Jenő Bory was a pioneer in the application of. Domes, columns, railings, stairs, door and window frames, pools, fountains, but also sculptures and reliefs were made of this material.

Visit Bory Castle

Today, the building complex known throughout Europe lives in the public consciousness as a symbol of eternal love – as the architect dedicated the castle to his wife – or the “Taj Mahal of Székesfehérvár”. It is one of the city’s most popular attractions, hence it is visited by thousands of visitors every year, from spring to autumn. Although some of the Bory descendants live within its walls, the building complex can be visited almost entirely.

How to get there

Székesfehérvár is located 65 kilometres from Budapest and the most convenient option to get there is definitely by car. Once you are in the town, the castle can be easily reached by car, primarily on the most important old mountain roads, from Béla utca, Pozsonyi út, Kassai utca and / or Fiskális út to Vágújhely and / or Bicskei utca, then turning onto Máriavölgy.

You can also find frequent train connections from Budapest – Keleti station. Click here to reach the time table.

Bory Castle is also easily accessible by local public transport. The nearest bus stop is called Vágújhelyi utca and it is three-minute-walk from the castle. Here from the train station Kassai u. – 32 to Nagyszombati Street and Kassai u. – 26A bus services to Nagyszombati Street stop. In addition, bus 31 from the train station to Béla utca and bus 26 from Jancsár utca through the bus station to Béla utca are close by. Bicskei u. It also stops at the intersection of Béla Street and Bicskei Street. The castle is a 10-minute-walk away.

The nearest bus stop, where long-distance services also stop (mainly to and from Pátka, Lovasberény and Bicske), is at Szeredi u. stop at the intersection of Béla Street and Szeredi Street, which is a 15-minute walk from the castle.

Where to stay

The Bory Castle is located in the suburbs of Székesfehérvár and the town offers a lot of options for accommodation. Obviously in the castle you cannot sleep, but feel free to use our search bar below to choose the best option around.

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