As he also wanted to strengthen the position of the towns, he confirmed the charter of Székesfehérvár and granted new privileges to several key towns in the kingdom (Pest, Nagyszombat (Trnava), Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica), Korpona (Krupina), Zólyom (Zvolen), Bars (Starý Tekov), and Esztergom).
It is not exactly known when the castle was handed over to Frederick II, Duke of Austria, and how long it was his property; but in 1236 Béla IV of Hungary conquered the castle.
It was written in 1242, shortly after the invasion of Hungary by the Tartars of Batu Khan, by a monk in the retinue of King Béla IV.
The Mongol invasion of Europe drew a planctus from an anonymous monk in the entourage of Béla IV of Hungary, the Planctus destructionis regni Hungariae per Tartaros (1242).
The history of the town dates back to the early Middle Ages when Duchess Kinga (Kinga of Poland) the daughter of the King Béla IV of Hungary and the wife of King Bolesław V the Chaste, received the land called Sącz, together with surrounding villages, from her husband in the year 1257.
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A November 11, 1250 letter of king Béla IV of Hungary to Pope Innocent IV says that Tatars imposed tribute onto the countries neighboring with his kingdom: "que ex parte Orientis cum regno nostro conterminantur, sicut Ruscia, Cumania, Brodnici, Bulgaria".
The efforts of Catherine's grandfather, Bela IV of Hungary to secure his southern boundary while moving toward the Adriatic included establishing leaders in Srem (John Angelos) and Slavonia (Rostislav Mikhailovich) who were not only capable but also closely connected to the royal family.