Taródi Vár

It’s not uncommon to find the once-great medieval castles of Europe crumbling under the weight of invasion, weather and time. In that sense Taródi Vár seems to blend in along Hungary’s border with Austria, until you realize it was actually built in the 20th century.

Despite its relatively recent creation, Taródi Vár perfectly captures the medieval castle spirit. Pointed 20 meter-high turrets shoot into the air, and the dark, green forests surrounding the residence encroach mysteriously on the castle walls. Covering a massive 350 square meters, each brick was laid in place by one man and his dedicated family.

In 1951, Stephen Taródi acquired a small piece of land near Sopron, Hungary and set off to build his own medieval castle. After initially beginning with wood, he soon started from scratch and laid the foundation for the castle that still stands today. Over the next 50 years, he and his family diligently worked on the castle, all the while balancing a day job. As it grew, so did its fame, and despite being the family’s home, Taródi also allowed visitors to roam through parts of his DIY castle.

Although he passed away in 2010, Taródi’s castle is still available for tours today, and his family is happy open their home for visitors to wander their castle’s antique-stuffed halls.