Branc Castle Ruins

Podbranč, Slovakia

Branč Castle was a relatively large castle which was built probably in the second half of the 13th century. The castle together with other castles protected the roads to Moravia crossing the border of the country in the Karpaty mountains. It was was used as a refugee for local inhabitants against Osman threat in 1663. The castle was abandoned in the beginning of the 18th century, furniture from its rooms was removed, fortification destroyed and the castle started to fall into decay. Pamiatkostav Žilina was reconstructing the castle in 1968. Archeological excavation was made from 1978, nowadays the remnants of the castle wall are conservated step by step.

The short and undemanding ascent to the castle hill is worth the toil because it offers a wonderful panoramic view of the Myjavská pahorkatina hills.

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Address

500015, Podbranč, Slovakia
See all sites in Podbranč

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Ruins in Slovakia

More Information

slovakia.travel
www.castles.sk

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Peter Balaz (2 years ago)
Easy to access beautifully place with great views. A well kept ruin with visible improvements No coffee or buffet. But a splendid site for a picnic. Strollers will have a hard time getting to the castle but not impossible.
Stacey O'callaghan (2 years ago)
Great ruin and is being refurbished, short walk up a steep hill to the ruin. The view is amazing and there is plenty to see. We took our lunch and had a picnic there. Great for all the family plenty of exploring to do!
John B (2 years ago)
Spectacular views at the top... Well worth the short hike to get to the top! Paths are mostly loose stones so be careful on the steeper climbs. There are toilets but not sure if they are open all day. Also there was a souvenir shop but I did not expect that to be open at 7.00am !
Cedric Cottage (2 years ago)
Beautiful castle ruins. One can see that some works are being done to repair / maintain the remains. Also the view from the rings is stunning. Admission is free and place is open 24/7
Matt Pierson (2 years ago)
Your standard ruins, if you've seen ruins before you could skip these without feeling like you missed out on too much... They're still pretty sweet though.
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Cochem Castle

The original Cochem Castle, perched prominently on a hill above the Moselle River, served to collect tolls from passing ships. Modern research dates its origins to around 1100. Before its destruction by the French in 1689, the castle had a long and fascinating history. It changed hands numerous times and, like most castles, also changed its form over the centuries.

In 1151 King Konrad III ended a dispute over who should inherit Cochem Castle by laying siege to it and taking possession of it himself. That same year it became an official Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) subject to imperial authority. In 1282 it was Habsburg King Rudolf’s turn, when he conquered the Reichsburg Cochem and took it over. But just 12 years later, in 1294, the newest owner, King Adolf of Nassau pawned the castle, the town of Cochem and the surrounding region in order to finance his coronation. Adolf’s successor, Albrecht I, was unable to redeem the pledge and was forced to grant the castle to the archbishop in nearby Trier and the Electorate of Trier, which then administered the Reichsburg continuously, except for a brief interruption when Trier’s Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg had to pawn the castle to a countess. But he got it back a year later.

The Electorate of Trier and its nobility became wealthy and powerful in large part due to the income from Cochem Castle and the rights to shipping tolls on the Moselle. Not until 1419 did the castle and its tolls come under the administration of civil bailiffs (Amtsmänner). While under the control of the bishops and electors in Trier from the 14th to the 16th century, the castle was expanded several times.

In 1688 the French invaded the Rhine and Moselle regions of the Palatinate, which included Cochem and its castle. French troops conquered the Reichsburg and then laid waste not only to the castle but also to Cochem and most of the other surrounding towns in a scorched-earth campaign. Between that time and the Congress of Vienna, the Palatinate and Cochem went back and forth between France and Prussia. In 1815 the western Palatinate and Cochem finally became part of Prussia once and for all.

Louis Jacques Ravené (1823-1879) did not live to see the completion of his renovated castle, but it was completed by his son Louis Auguste Ravené (1866-1944). Louis Auguste was only two years old when construction work at the old ruins above Cochem began in 1868, but most of the new castle took shape from 1874 to 1877, based on designs by Berlin architects. After the death of his father in 1879, Louis Auguste supervised the final stages of construction, mostly involving work on the castle’s interior. The castle was finally completed in 1890. Louis Auguste, like his father, a lover of art, filled the castle with an extensive art collection, most of which was lost during the Second World War.

In 1942, during the Nazi years, Ravené was forced to sell the family castle to the Prussian Ministry of Justice, which turned it into a law school run by the Nazi government. Following the end of the war, the castle became the property of the new state of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate). In 1978 the city of Cochem bought the castle for 664,000 marks.

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