Cultural Directory of Slovakia - Castle

This neo-Gothic chateau at the foothills of the Mala Magura mountain range is one of the oldest and most significant Slovak castles. First mentioned in 1113, its first important owner was Matúš Čák Trenčiansky. The castle and its manor have always been royal property, and the king assigned them in earnest or into inherited property to devoted magnates.

This massive rectangular structure with four corner towers stands on a rocky outcrop directly above the River Danube in the middle of Bratislava.

A set of medieval building objects with original art and craft equipment has been preserved in Levoča. This set is the peak of Master Paul’s work. His hands are likely to create the highest Late Gothic wing altar in the world located in Levoča‘s parish church of St. Jacob. This monumental main altar together with the altar of St. Johns in a unique way document the style and opinion change of the end of the Middle Ages and incoming Modern Times.

Zvolen Castle was built by the Hungarian king Louis I of Anjou in 70s of the 14th century as a Gothic residence influenced by architecture of Italian city palaces. Originally it served as an occasional residence of the king, however due to Turkish threat it was rebuilt into a Renaissance fortress in 16th century.

Kežmarok Castle was constructed as a defensive castle shortly before 1463, when it is first mentioned in connection with the Hungarian Zápoľský family. It was acquired in 1577 by the Thoköly family which had the existing Gothic fortress rebuilt as a luxurious Rennaisance residence. They also built the Baroque chapel. Confiscated by the Habsburgs in the late 17th century following the Thoköly family’s involvement in a failed anti-imperial plot, the castle was sold in 1687 to Ferdinand Rueber, but following his death it was purchased in 1702 by the town of Kežmarok.

The National Cultural Monument Banská Štiavnica Town Castle (known as the Banská Štiavnica Town Castle) is one of the enduring features of the former royal town. It came into being following the Renaissance reconstruction of the original 13th-century Romanesque Church of the Virgin Mary and its integration into the town fortification system during the period 1546-1559. This reconstruction into a central anti-Turk fortress turned the main nave of the former church into a castle courtyard.

Smolenice Castle was built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the site of a 14th-century castle which had guarded the border mountain pass between Slovak and Czech territory. In 1777 the castle passed to the Pálffy family, but due to its poor condition and lack of money reconstruction did not commence until 1887.