Szőcs Péter Levente (szerk.): Ecsed. Ghid cultural şi istoric (Satu Mare, 2009)

Epoca de aur a Ecedei

the property of the Báthori family. Ever since then, the fate of Ecsed was closely related to the Báthori family, and after the family broke up in three branches, one branch took over the name of Ecsed.

The year 1334 was of major importance for the settlement: King Charles Robert granted the right to build a fortress for János Báthori (I) in Ecsed. The castle should have been called the Fortress of Loyalty, in the memory of the battles against the oligarchs. The castle, though, was called simply after the settlement, and the family gathered a wide domain around it. The castle was built on an artificial island of the swamp, near the two natural islands where the settlement was located. The whole settlement was surrounded with an earth wall, but it served merely against floods. The castle itself was made of earth too, and it had the usual aspect of an earth fortification: it was surrounded by an earth wall, while the house of the lord and the church were built of brick. All the other buildings were made of clay-bricks. Although there are no medieval representations, most probably the fortress and the settlement were characterized by a high density of buildings, like the others located in the islands of the swamp. Ecsed is still considered a closed settlement, because there are no hamlets around it. The only exception, which actually strengthens the rule, is the village of Kisecsed, which was founded west of Ecsed, in the 14th century. It became a stand-alone settlement during the 16th century

Piatră cu blazonul familiei Báthori, cca. 1490 Báthori-címeres kő, 1490 körül

Stone with the coat of arms of the Báthori family, around 1490

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