Szigliget Becomes Hungarian
Our conquering Hungarian ancestors occupied the western part of Transdanubia around the year 900. The area between the Tapolca and Káli Basins became part of the estates of Kál horka, and later his son Bulcsú—associated with the Vérbulcsú or Lád clan. This is evidenced by place names such as Köveskál, Mindszentkálla, Szentbékkálla, and Badacsonylábdihegy (known as Lád in the Middle Ages), as well as several now-vanished medieval villages recorded in charters. By the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, unoccupied lands between tribal territories, border zones (gyepű), and confiscated estates came under the authority of the prince and later the king, administered through the system of county castles. Szigliget likely belonged to these lands, as it is mentioned among the possessions of Zala Castle until the early 12th century. The center of the small settlement was located around the Avasi Church. A charter from 1121 informs us that the extraction of stone and the burning of lime for the construction of the Almád Monastery were carried out by four families (mansio), commissioned by the Atyusz clan, who had by then become the new landowners of the village. In addition to these families, the donors granted to the monastery a central portion of pasture, woodland, and meadow from the estate called Zeglegeth, along with six serf families with ploughlands sufficient for three ploughs, seventy horses, one hundred cattle, and a mill. These donations clearly indicate that the village had a relatively large population in the early 12th century. For a time, little is known about the later fate of the settlement. However, structural and stylistic analysis of the tower of the Avasi Church—compared with the churches of Egregy, Zánka, and Felsőörs—suggests that these buildings were already standing by the late 12th or early 13th century, and were likely the work of a local workshop.