Where you currently stand was once the center of Nógrád Castle, the inner castle. A Renaissance palace wing joined the old tower, which still stands several stories high today, in a "U" shape, enclosing a courtyard. The old tower and the palace were built in the fifteenth century by the aforementioned Miklós Báthory, bishop of Vác – if we can believe the sources, with the same Italian master builder who also worked on King Matthias Corvinus's palace in Visegrád. In Báthory's time, the castle had already been the property of the bishops of Vác for nearly two centuries, received as a donation from the king in the second half of the 13th century, and at this time it primarily served as a summer residence.
The walls of the palace are barely distinguishable, but the stumps of the former old tower are defining elements of the castle's characteristics and sight and are clearly visible from afar. The two diagonal corners hint at the former mass and size of the building. Beautifully carved stones line the corner of the larger stump, while inside, the remains of a brick-lined fireplace chimney can be observed, along with the more ornate stones of the fireboxes: these indicate the location of the former levels, along with the window opening remains. From the top level, which was the living quarters of the lord of the castle, the citadel of Visegrád can also be seen.
As a point of interest, we must mention that recently a structural survey showed that the two planes of the elaborately laid outer corner are completely vertical; over their entire length, the deviation was within the margin of error of the instruments. The master builders knew their craft six hundred years ago!
At the base of the old tower, carved into the rock, a mysterious passage also hides, which according to local legends might be the entrance to a former tunnel leading out of the castle. But where did it lead? Legend says to the former town, but the neighboring castles of Drégely, Szanda, and Visegrád are also suspected.
Standing on the hill of the inner castle, you can truly take a good look at the structure of the castle: an inner castle surrounded by a moat, and a more spacious outer castle reinforced with bastions. We continue our path to the Protection Bastion: you have already seen it from below, but now we will meet at the lookout level.