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 Suňog, whose family owned it until the end of the 18th century. At the half 16th century, the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. The Turkish threat from the south, and more uprisings at the beginning of the 17th century forced Suňogs to fortify the castle in the Renaissance style. At that time, the Gothic castle was changed into comfortable Renaissance palace.
During the Baroque period in the 17th century, effort was concentrated on building a chapel and finishing various building of the castle and surrounding it by the park. After the Suňog family died, the new owners were the Csákys, who owned the castle until 1945. During the revolutions of 1848/1849, imperial troops seriously damaged the castle, which was repaired in 1870, and was serving as a barracks. The park's size was reduced by the construction of Košice-Bohumín Railway in 1872. The last major reconstruction was done in the 1922-1923, based on the historical and romantic motives. Today, the castle houses three exhibitions of the Považie museum.
References:Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.
History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.
Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.
Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.