Eger Minaret: An Ottoman Call-to-Prayer Tower in Hungary
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Hungary
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Ottoman
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Minaret
On this page12 sections
History
Eger Minaret, also known as the Egri minaret or Kethüda minaret, is an Ottoman-era call-to-prayer tower in Eger, Hungary. Built from carved red sandstone during the early seventeenth century, shortly after the Ottoman capture of the city in 1596, it formed part of the Djami of Kethuda mosque, although its exact construction date is uncertain.
Ottoman Eger
The minaret served the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer traditionally recited from a mosque tower, five times each day. The mosque was described by Evliya Çelebi, a seventeenth-century Ottoman traveler and writer, during his visit to Eger in 1664, when the city remained under Ottoman rule. Around 17 minarets were built in Eger during the 91 years of Ottoman administration, but this tower is the sole survivor.
After the Ottoman period
In 1687, the Austrian Imperial Army under Charles of Lorraine expelled the Ottoman forces from Eger. The mosque was converted into a Catholic church dedicated to Saint Joseph, and from 1726 its premises housed the Brothers of Mercy Hospital. The former mosque then served as the hospital and monastery chapel.
After the end of Ottoman rule, efforts were made to demolish the minaret as a rejection of the former occupation. When manual attempts failed, 400 oxen were harnessed to ropes fixed to the tower, but it resisted their force. The minaret was consequently allowed to remain, with a cross placed above the surviving crescent.
The mosque was demolished in 1841 and replaced by the present St. Sebestyén’s Martyrs’ Church of Eger. The minaret survived as the remaining part of the former mosque, and marks on its fabric still show where the tower had been joined to the building.
Conservation and renewed meaning
Lightning caused the original dome, which formed the minaret’s roof, to collapse in the early nineteenth century. Archbishop Pyrker János László ordered a tin roof to be installed in 1829, helping to prevent the tower’s complete destruction. The National Committee of the Monuments restored it in 1897 to plans by István Möller, and the National Monumentary Inspectorate undertook further minor conservation in 1962.
A major renovation followed in 2018, after deterioration had greatly reduced the tower’s load-bearing capacity. Ceramic dishes dating from the Ottoman period were found during the work. In 2016, Demir Hikmet, a Turkish Muslim resident of Eger, was permitted to recite the adhan from the balcony as the minaret’s muezzin, the person who performs the call to prayer, for the first time in 327 years. Once viewed as a symbol of occupation, the tower is now celebrated as a monument representing good relations between Hungary and Turkey.
Remains
The surviving minaret is a 40-metre tower of carved reddish sandstone with a fourteen-sided plan. Its narrow interior contains a steep spiral staircase of 97 stone steps, leading to a balcony 26 metres above the ground. The preserved tower stands separately from the church that replaced the mosque, while its entrance and attachment marks retain evidence of the original arrangement.
Minaret structure
Entrance and staircase
The entrance is set on the north side of the tower’s base. It was originally approached from inside the mosque rather than from the exterior. A semicircular closure frames the entrance, which opens into the small interior space containing the narrow stone staircase. The staircase rises steeply to the encircling balcony.
Balcony and upper tower
The balcony surrounds the tower and has a doorway with a semicircular closure resembling that of the main entrance. Its entrance faces toward Mecca. The underside is ornamented with a recessed band of overlapping circular rings, while similar overlapping ring decoration continues around the upper part of the tower.
Base ornament
A continuous row of recessed panels decorates the base. Each panel carries a repeating double-edged ornamental motif. Together with the fourteen-sided plan and carefully cut sandstone blocks, these details form the distinctive architectural character of the surviving tower.
Former mosque connection
Djami of Kethuda
The former Djami of Kethuda mosque had a regular square plan with several minor architectural details. It was built from the same reddish sandstone as the minaret, with carved windows and doors. Later descriptions characterize it as a carefully assembled Turkish stone building with a vaulted roof or dome.
Courtyard and attachment marks
The mosque’s main facade opened onto a courtyard surrounded by polished stone, and the minaret formed an integral part of the building. The tower was entered through the mosque, and surviving marks on its structure indicate the point where the two buildings were connected. These traces preserve the physical relationship between the freestanding monument and the mosque for which it was built.
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