Castles and fortifications in Slovakia
Cerveny Kamen Castle
Červený Kameň Castle was built in the 13th century as part of the chain of the Kingdom of Hungary’s frontier defense castles ranging from Pressburg to Žilina. Although the Fugger family built the massive fortress in the first half of the 16th century on the site of an original royal castle, its history is connected with the Pálffy noble family. This important Hungarian aristocratic family gr ...Zvolen Castle
Zvolen Castle is a medieval well-preserved castle located on a hill near the center of Zvolen. The original seat of the region was above the confluence of Slatina and Hron rivers on a steep cliff in a castle from the 12th century, known today as Pustý hrad (meaning 'Deserted castle'). Its difficult access had consequence in relocation of the seat to the new-built Zvolen castle, which was ordered by Louis I the Great as a ...Smolenice Castle
Smolenice Castle was built in the 15th century, but it was destroyed during Rákóczi's War of Independence and Napoleanic wars. In 1777, Count János Pálffy from Pezinok inherited Smolenice but did not reside in the castle due to its poor condition and lack of money for rebuilding it. The castle was rebuilt in the 20th century by order of Count József Pálffy. The architect Jozef Hubert designed the new castle by using ...Bytca Castle
Bytča Castle was originally built as a water castle by Pongrác Szentmiklósi in the 13th century and rebuilt between 1571 and 1574 in Renaissance style by Ferenc Thurzó. The Italian architect Ján Kilian of Milan was invited to oversee the construction. George Thurzo continued his father’s activities and due to him the Wedding Palace was built in 1601, which was meant to serve for the ...Budatín Castle
Budatín castle was built as a guarding castle in the second half of the 13th century near the confluence of the Kysuca and the Váh, where tolls were collected. At the beginning of the 14th century, originally royal fortress passed into the hands of Matthew III Csák and the castle, especially towers were fortified, and inside the fortress a new palace was built. Since 1487, the new owner of the castle was Gašpar Suňo ...Komárno Fortress
Komárno castle became the main supporting point of the defensive system constructed against the Turks, after they occupied Buda and Esztergom in the years 1541-1543. The fortress of Komárno is the one of the largest bastion fortifications in Central Europe. It was built in 1546-1557 to the grounds of the 13th century castle.Lupca Castle
The Ľupča castle is the highest located castle building in the Hron area (Pohronie). The castle is built on the north side of a relatively narrow fold of the Hron which is closed by the slopes of the Slovak Ore Mountains from the south and by the slopes of the Low Tatras from the north. The oldest part of the castle is built on the isolated rock on the last hill of the Low Tatras jag with an altitude of 375m above sea l ...Pezinok Castle
Pezinok Castle was originally a Gothic castle built at the turn of 13th and 14th centuries by Counts from Svätý Jur and Pezinok. After their death the castle had different owners (baron Krušič, count Illesházy, Pálffy family). In 1875 a lightning caused extensive damage to its nothern part, which fell apart and a new building was built at this place. In 1931 the town purchased the castle and sold it to Slovak Vintne ...Halic Castle
The first record of the castle in Halič dates from the year 1450. In the years 1450-51 it belonged to the Jiskras, later to János Hunyady before becoming inhabited by King Matthias Corvinus in 1462. In the first half of the 16th century it was in property of Istvan Losonczy from Lučenec. The castle was reconstructed, without royal permission, by him and was damaged in 1544 during a siege. After the death ...Víglas Castle
The history of the Vígľaš Castle reaches to the early medieval times when Slavic fortifications were built on these very same hillsides overlooking the Slatina River. In addition,the monastery, most likely run by the Templar Knighthood, also was in operation. Soon thereafter, the property became the possession of the Johanit Order (later called the Maltese Knights) and King Karol Robert of Anjou. In 131 ...Borsa Castle
Borša Castle was built after the Tatar invasion (13th century) by the king Belo IV. Its history is not known very good, we only know, that castle was owned by many families (Perin, Polonyi, Lorantffy, Rakoczi and others). The most well-known owner was Francis II Rákóczi, the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11. At the end of 16th or the beginning of 17th century was on it ...Hlohovec Castle
The dominant building in the Hlohovec is a Renaissance-Baroque castle built in 1720. The castle is built on the place of a pre-existing Slavic settlement and a medieval castle from the 13th century. In the castle area is the Empire theatre built in 1802, a riding school from the 18th century, and a Baroque garden pavilion.Ilava Castle
Ilavský castle dates from the turn of the 11th - 12th century. It was probably founded by Knights Templars and later it served as a monastery. The first document of the castle dates from 1446. The state administration established a state prison in the castle, which, in a new form, has remained there until the present day. There was also a concentration camp during World War II.Hertník Castle
The history of Hertník castle dates from the first half of the 16th century when the Hertnik domain became a property of the Forgac family from Jelenec (Gymes). Baron Simon Forgac received Hertnik in 1553 from Ferdinand I for his military merits in the Turkish wars. The castle was built to the site of older fortications and it was a four-tower duplex building with a rectangle plan. A big courtyard was bounded by wa ...Leopoldov Fortress
The town of Leopoldov was founded in 1664-1669 as a fortress against the Ottoman Turks on the initiative of Emperor Leopold I (hence the name). It was granted town status in 1669. The fortress has served as a state prison since 1855. During the Communist Czechoslovakia, the Communist government used the prison for holding and liquidating political prisoners, particularly in the 1950s. The conditions were harsh for prison ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Broch of Gurness
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.
The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.
The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.
Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.
At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.
In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.