The defeat of the ragtag Hungarian army by the Turks at Mohács on 29 August 1526 was a watershed in the nation’s history, its effects felt up to this day. With it came partition and foreign domination that would last almost five centuries. The small visitor centre is 6km southwest of town at Sátorhely, with clever images of the battle projected on the walls, a section with archaeological remains and wooden markers outside representing the Hungarian and Turkish sides.
The visitor centre also screens three educational films (in Hungarian) geared to different age groups (adults, kids and small children roughly under seven). The subterranean entrance leads to a circular courtyard with 10 panels with (somewhat one-sided) explanations in English. ‘Here began the ruination of a once strong Hungary’ proclaims one.
Originally opened in 1976 to mark the 450th anniversary of the Mohács battle, the visitor centre is a fitting memorial to the dead over a common grave that was only discovered in the early 1970s.