Várgesztes Castle, Medieval castle ruin in Várgesztes, Hungary

Várgesztes Castle is a medieval ruin perched on a hilltop with surviving stone walls and towers that look out over the Hungarian landscape. The remains show the typical layout of a mountain fortress with defensive features still visible today.

The fortress was built in the 13th century as a defensive structure and endured multiple sieges during conflicts between Hungarian and Ottoman forces. These confrontations left their mark on the ruins visible today.

The castle's name comes from the Gesztes estate of the Csák clan, and the village that grew beside it is now called Várgesztes, "castle Gesztes". The ruin has served as a shelter: in 1932 the Munka Tourist Association built a tourist house on its south-western side, and a hostel and restaurant later operated inside the inner castle until they closed in 2013.

The castle has been closed to visitors since 1 November 2013 because its condition became life-threatening after years without state funding; repair of the dangerous sections was planned to begin in spring 2014. The former tourist hostel and restaurant inside the inner castle shut at the same time. Check locally before setting out from Várgesztes.

The castle's stones were quarried away after 1683: with the permission of Count József Esterházy, they were used to build the Camaldolese monastery complex at Majk. In 1932 the Munka Tourist Association built a tourist house in the southwest part of the ruin, and a hostel and restaurant operated inside the inner castle until 2013.