BAJCSAVÁR, A NEW S T R O N G H O L D IN ROYAL H U N G A R Y ’S BO R D ER -D EFEN C E SYSTEM Since Attila Gaál’s excavations at Ú jpalánk n e a r Szek
s z á rd i considerable pro g ress has b ee n m ad e in the archaeological re se a rc h in g o f sm aller T u rk ish p ali
sades (palankas), ev en th o u g h in m ost cases this research has e x ten d e d only to certain sm aller details.
Very often even the location o f these m ilitary c o n stru c tio n s is u n k n o w n , a n d m an y h ave b ee n successfully iden tified only in re c e n t d e c a d e s. 2 Fol- low ing th e ir decay o r d e stru c tio n , th e sites they occupied w ere often built on, m aking archaeological excavation im possible, o r possible only to a lim ited ex ten t. O nly o n a few sites co uld trial o r rescue
T h e rem ains suggest that the construction o f these fortifications was n ő t p la n n e d with any p articu lar dom inantly peasants from the Balkans - lived as they had done in their villages at hom e, even in cases where differen t arran g e m e n ts would have been possible. 7
T h e smaller palisades in the H ungárián royal chain o f b o rd é r fo rtresses have b ee n archaeolo gically investigated to a lesser e x te n t th a n those o n the O ttom an side of the border.s Recent excavations near Nagykanizsa have yielded basic inform ation - partly at variance with th a t fór Ú jpalán k - o n palisade co nstru ction d u rin g the p erio d.
T h e onetim e fortification o f Bajcsavár n ear Nagy
kanizsa (it is generally re fe rre d to as Weitschawar in
111. 1. B ajcsa-V ár. T h e s o u th w e ste rn p a lisa d ed bastio n . (P h o to g ra p h : G yöngyi Kovács)
the viliágé is called Bajcsa) was fully excavated b e
tw een 1995 a n d 2001, w ith the exception o f th e wes
te rn bastion th a t h a d b een com pletely d estro y e d by the tw entieth century. Despite th e fact th at a n u m b e r of sm aller details could nőt be observed an d that m any issues re m a in co ntroversial, th e findings reveal th e n a tú ré o f th e sm aller p u rp o se -b u ilt palisades built by th e Hofkriegsrat in V ienna an d the m ilitary council in G raz, an d p ro v id e a w ealth o f detail nő t observed elsew here in H u n g a ry (or, fór th a t m atter, along the e n tire C ro a tia n -H u n g a ria n d efence line against the O ttom ans). T h e findings alsó facilitate com parison s with the Turkish casde at Újpalánk, even though these m u st take intő acco u n t differences in fu nction an d size. W hile Ú jpalánk was a sm aller o u tp o st o n th e D anube b an k (specifically to g u a rd the Sárvíz toll- b rid g e n e a r S zekszárd), Bajcsavár, a lth o u g h nő t particularly large, was a key fortification in the defence line fór S outh w est T ra n sd a n u b ia , o r at least was originally built as such.
T h e m ain features a n d significance o fth e excava- tions at Bajcsa can be su m m ed u p as follow s:9
(1) T h e castle, built from scratch in 1578 an d paid fór by th e Estates o f S tryria, was in te n d e d to d efen d prim arily th e M ura re g io n a n d Styria itself. It was ev a cu ated in 1600, sh o rtly b efo re th e O tto m a n s c a p tu re d Kanizsa. Bajcsavár, th e n , stood fór a very b rief tim e, twenty-two o r tw enty-three years, an d the
9 F ór investig atio n s o f Bajcsavár, cf. R o t h 1970; V á n d o r 1994, 1997, 1998; V á n d o r - K o v á c s - P á l f f y 1998/2000; K o v á c s 2 0 0 2.
finds from th e site can be d a te d to this s h o rt a n d precisely d efin e d p erio d .
(2) T h e fortification was very closely co n n ected with Styria th ro u g h o u t, w ith th e re su lt th a t th e re is co nsid erab le archival m aterial o n its co n stru ctio n , bu ildin gs, garriso n , an d fitdn gs in th e archives at G raz an d V ienna, m ean in g th a t th e d o c u m en ta ry evidence can be checked ag ain st th e archaeological finds a n d observations.
(3) In te n d e d to be th e m ain fortification in the defence line secdon ru n n in g írom Kanizsa to the River M ura - this section was know n as the C aptaincy o f Bajcsavár (Windische-Weitschawansche Grenu) - , the stro ng ho ld received special supplies. T h e finds from this site include C roatian, H u n g á riá n an d Styrian artefacts, as well as products from elsewhere in Austria, írom G erm any an d from Italy. 10 T his is ex plained n ő t only by the casde’s links with Styria, b ú t alsó by Styria’s links with th e rest o f th e H ab sb urg Em pire, as well as by the ethnic com position o f th e garrison.
(4) As oppo sed to th e m ore archaic features o f th e sm aller T u rk ish fortificadons (I re fe r to elem ents know n from O tte n d o rff’s draw ings, 11 b ú t first an d forem ost to those revealed at Ú jpalánk), at Bajcsa we m ight assum e a striving fór b etter solutions, although th e e n d result was far from perfect as the surviving rem ains indicate. Diverging from the usual re c ta n g u lar g ro u n d plán a n d ro u n d bastions o f th e sm aller
10 F ór e x a m p le , K o v á c s , Gy. 2001b.
11 H e r m a n n 1943.
Sm a l l e r Ot t o m a n-e r a Pa l i s a d e s. Ba jc s a v á r
111. 2. B ajcsa-V ár. T h e s o u th w e ste rn p a lisa d ed bastion. (D raw n by Z oltán T ó th a n d Zsolt Réti) Key.: h o m o k b á n y a = sand -w o rk in g s; v á ráro k = m o at
111. 3. B ajcsa-V ár. B rick b u ttre ss on th e n o r th e r n side. (P h o to g ra p h : Ild ik ó M azúr)
T h e buildings w ere erected a ro u n d tim b e r fram es an d h ad brick o r d a u b walls. L a rg e r b uildings w ere ro o fed w ith clay tiles (the w ritten sources m en tio n shingle a n d th atch , too); they w ere re p a ire d fairly often a n d w ere h ea te d by tiled stoves; the frequently re n ew ed clay floors w ere o ften laid o ver a brick s u b stru ctu re . S torehouses a n d w orkshops - som eti- m es sim ple s tru c tu re s a n d so m etim es b u ilt w ith substantial fou n d atio n s - likewise occur at Bajcsa, as they do at o th e r castles, an d the sam e is tru e o f open- air ovens, th e storage an d refuse pits, a n d th e pits d u g fór laying fire a n d fór p erfo rm in g som é works.
h arm o n y with th e artefacts u n co v e red th ere . T h e a rch itectu ra l evidence clearly indicates difficulties arisin g from th e cra m p e d in te rio r space a n d from obvious crow dedness, as well as prob lem s stem m ing from th e san d hill o n which th e fó rt stood. At th e sam e tim e, th e artefacts reflect good supply, w ealth, a certain m easu re o f luxury, a n d a relatively high s ta n d a rd o f living in this b o rd é r castle. T h ey alsó indicate ties with W estern E u ro p e th a t are doubtless a ttrib u tab le to th e b u ild ers o f th e castle, as well as to th e eth n ic com position o f th e g arriso n (G erm ans, Styrians, C roatians, an d H u n garians).
12 D o m o k o s 2000, 15-29.
ls C f. T a k á t s 1915, f ó r d a t a o n t h e r e p a i r s t o t h e v a r i o u s p a l i s a d e s in H u n g a r y .
14 V á n d o r - K o v á c s - P á l f f y 1998/2000, A p p e n d i x N o . 4.
GÁBOR HATHÁZI