Leading his army in person, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent besieged Szigetvár Castle in Baranya (near the present day Hungarian and Croatian border) with his military force of more than 80,000 soldiers in the summer of 1566.
The fortification blocked his way westwards towards Vienna on his second attempt to capture the capital of Habsburg Austria.
The battle lasted from August 6 till September 8, while the castle was defended by greatly outnumbered, some 2,500 Croatian and Hungarian soldiers of the Croatian nobleman Nikola IV Zrinski.

On September 6, Sultan Suleiman unexpectedly died of natural causes at the age of 72 in his big imperial tent beside the battlefield.
While his death was kept secret at great effort, Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, the acting operational commander, continued to lead the battle.
Shortly after Suleiman's death, Zrinski was killed in action during the final battle, and the castle fell into the hands of the Ottomans.
The Ottomans cancelled the Vienna campaign and the troops returned home without knowing about the death of their ruler.

Szigetvár remained under Ottoman control for 122 years.
Between 1596 and 1600, the town was capital of the Ottoman Empire's Sigetvar Eyalet and then became part of the Kanije Eyalet.

During this period, the Ottomans built mosques, Turkish baths and schools.
There still exist some buildings in the town dating back to Ottoman time whereas some of the monuments were demolished after recapture by the Habsburg Hungary.
Leading his army in person, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent besieged Szigetvár Castle in Baranya (near the present day Hungarian and Croatian border) with his military force of more than 80,000 soldiers in the summer of 1566. The fortification blocked his way westwards towards Vienna on his second attempt to capture the capital of Habsburg Austria. The battle lasted from August 6 till September 8, while the castle was defended by greatly outnumbered, some 2,500 Croatian and Hungarian soldiers of the Croatian nobleman Nikola IV Zrinski.
On September 6, Sultan Suleiman unexpectedly died of natural causes at the age of 72 in his big imperial tent beside the battlefield. While his death was kept secret at great effort, Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, the acting operational commander, continued to lead the battle. Shortly after Suleiman's death, Zrinski was killed in action during the final battle, and the castle fell into the hands of the Ottomans. The Ottomans cancelled the Vienna campaign and the troops returned home without knowing about the death of their ruler.
Szigetvár remained under Ottoman control for 122 years. Between 1596 and 1600, the town was capital of the Ottoman Empire's Sigetvar Eyalet and then became part of the Kanije Eyalet.
During this period, the Ottomans built mosques, Turkish baths and schools. There still exist some buildings in the town dating back to Ottoman time whereas some of the monuments were demolished after recapture by the Habsburg Hungary.
Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park