16th-century Hungarian hero reburied

The remains of István Dobó, leader of Hungarian forces at the siege of Eger in 1552, were reburied in a church built by the Dobó family in Ruszka, Slovakia on Saturday after a lapse of 440 years.

Dobó's grave was found last autumn after two years of exploration under the altar of the former family church. Archaeologists established that the remains found under the altar were in great probability those of Dobó. Researchers have revealed that the remains were those of a man who had passed 70 years of age, was about 180cm tall and had been suffering from gout.

Dobó led a force of 1,800 soldiers and civilians in the summer and early autumn of 1552 in defending the castle of Eger against a Turkish force of 70,000 soldiers. He was immortalised by Géza Gárdonyi in the early 20th century novel Egri csillagok ("Stars of Eger").

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