The building of the royal castle on Esztergom Castle Hill began in the last third of the 10th century during the reign of Prince Géza. The work begun by Géza was continued by his son, St. István, and the castle became one of the most important royal seats in the first decades of the 11th century. During the course of the 12th century - during the reign of King Béla III - the castle was rebuilt and after the construction of the keep and the castle chapel the castle became a characteristic sample of the Middle European royal seats.

In 1198 King Imre renounced the castle on the archbishop’s behalf. It was the beginning of the process when Esztergom turned into an archiepiscopal centre from a royal seat. In 1256, Béla IV finally gave up the royal castle. Later, the castle was rebuilt several times, completely by Archbishop Dénes Széchy in 1450-1453 and by János Vitéz between 1465 and 1472. In 1453, the castle was occupied by the Turkish and was captured again in 1683.