K.E. Skedgell

I haven't done a historical post in a while, so I thought since the start of book two in my Draculești series begins here, I will talk a little about Visegrád, a town in northern Hungary that holds one of King Mátyás Corvin's palaces. Visegrád Coat-of-Arms. Visegrád (Veesh-ay-grahd) is located about twenty miles (32 kilometers) north of Budapest on the east bank on the bend of the Danube River. The area is filled with dense forests and rolling hills and mountains, and from the top of the great hill shadowing the town one can take in the beautiful views from the partially reconstructed ruins of the thirteenth century fortress. Visegrád was first settled as a Roman military camp in the 4th century in a place called Sibrik Hill, located a little north of the current upper castle. The camp was later abandoned in the 5th century and a castle was built in its place, and thus the town had formed. In 1009, Visegrád was first mentioned as a county town and the chief town of an...

Kocs Coat-Of-Arms K ocs is a village in Hungary from which the word "coach" is derived, and are pronounced the same. The village is the birthplace of the horse-drawn vehicle called a coach in the 15th century. To be more precise, the name is kocsi szekér and means 'wagon from Kocs'. It was built with one main thing in mind--speed. That, and it needed to carry several people and their supplies, in comfort for both the passengers and the horses. Built entirely of wood, no iron wheels or parts with the exception of fasteners, chains, and springs, the vehicle was light and easy for the team of horses that pulled it, usually two with a third on the side for when extra speed or strength was needed. Kocs, with its meaning of "ram", has a population of about 2700 people, lies about 40 miles (65 km) west of Budapest and is located in NW Hungary in the county of Komárom-Esztergom. The coat-of-arms above depicts the ram on a green field representing the first...