Béla IV, King of Hungary at the time, did not consider it worthwhile to try and rebuild the castle at Moson, and thus turned to Óvár as a promising site for a future fortress. The King gave a man named Conrad, who was of the Győr tribe, lands in Moson and funds to be able to accomplish this task. Though he made significant improvements to the castle, he defected to Ottokar II and Duke Albert of Austria. For this impunity, he was deprived of his lands, and from then on Óvár was an estate of the Hungarian queens. The first settlers to Óvár were refugees from the destroyed Moson, and in the 14th century it became a bustling city with new industry and urbanization. Mills along the Lajta became a source of employment and attention, as many were owned by the royal house. In 1354, Queen Elisabeth gave Óvár the title of "queen's town". This gave the townspeople the right to elect their own parish priest, have their own jurisdiction, inherit possessions, and pay no customs in all of Hungary. Later kings recognized these rights, but the townspeople still had to struggle to maintain them. After Louis II's marriage to Mary of Habsburg, Óvár became a key defense on the Austrian border, which would come into play during the Turkish invasion.
