2 February 1242 The castle first appears in writingHrad sa prvý raz objaví v listine

The first document that names Fiľakovo is dated 2 February 1242 — the winter the Mongol army was riding through the kingdom. Local tradition says the castle held out against them, and the story is repeated everywhere; it rests, though, on that single early mention rather than on any account of a siege. What is certain is the pattern that followed. After the Mongols withdrew, King Béla IV pushed the nobles of Hungary to build in stone and on high rock, and the hills of Novohrad filled with castles. Fiľakovo's basalt neck, sheer on three sides, needed almost no help.Prvá listina, ktorá Fiľakovo spomína, má dátum 2. februára 1242 — bola zima a krajinou práve prechádzalo mongolské vojsko. Miestna tradícia hovorí, že hrad Mongolom odolal, a opakuje sa to všade; opiera sa však len o tú jedinú ranú zmienku, nie o správu o obliehaní. Isté je to, čo prišlo potom. Po odchode Mongolov tlačil kráľ Belo IV. uhorskú šľachtu, aby stavala z kameňa a na skalách, a novohradské kopce sa zaplnili hradmi. Fiľakovský čadičový sopúch, z troch strán kolmý, pritom nepotreboval takmer nijakú pomoc.