Pustý hrad is a castle whose ruins are located on a forested hill. With an area of 76,000 m² it is arguably one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. The original name was Zvolen Castle or Old Zvolen; Pustý hrad (meaning 'deserted castle') is a much later name used to distinguish the ruin from the present-day Zvolen Castle. Pustý hrad consists of two parts, the Upper Castle and the Lower Castle.
The strategic hill site upon the river Hron attracted settlers as early as the late Stone Age (Baden culture). A stone-earth wall discovered in 2009 under the western line of medieval fortification included shreds of pottery from the late Stone Age inside its filling. Research carried out at the Upper Castle in 1992–2008 by Václav Hanuliak also identified stone walls built during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Excavations have unearthed many precious prehistoric artifacts, including several big bronze treasures of the Lusatian culture, fragments from the Kyjatice culture, and even pottery imported from the Roman Empire. The subsequent Slavic medieval castle was founded in the 9th century.
As a regional center, Pustý hrad was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and it became a seat of Zólyom County. The oldest stone buildings (for example the keep) are attributed to King Béla III of Hungary. The keep from the 12th century is located at the highest point of the hill - at an elevation of 571 m above sea level - and was once 50 meters high. In the 13th century, an exceptionally large area of the present castle was fully fortified by the royal stonemason master Bertold in order to protect eventual refugees from Zvolen in case of a Mongol invasion. Both the Upper (3.5 ha) and the Lower (0.65 ha) Castle were surrounded by massive fortifications and a 206 metre long defense wall was erected in the saddle below the Lower Castle. In addition to an older keep, another one was built around the same time. Its dimensions of 20 by 20 meters made it one of the largest residential buildings in Central Europe at that time. Pustý hrad was first mentioned in written sources at the beginning of the 13th century, in the chronicle Gesta Hungarorum.
Subsequent development was connected with counts Demeter and Donč from the Balaša family. Magister Knight Donč was a noble warrior and diplomat serving to Charles I of Hungary. Under the influence of his journey to France, Donč built a significant extension in the Lower Castle and ordered a Gothic modernization. During that phase a four-storey tower was added to the entrance gate of the Upper Castle. A palace, a water tank, a terraced courtyard and other newly constructed buildings in the northern panhandle of Pustý hrad formed what is now known as Donč's Castle.
The castle lost its importance in the 15th century, the period of military conflicts between John Hunyadi and John Jiskra of Brandýs. Pustý hrad was ruined by fire during a siege in 1452, probably burnt down by John Hunyadi's troops. The last building constructed on the site was a watchtower erected in the second half of the 16th century.
Systematic excavations have been conducted since 1992. Some parts of the castle have been recently reconstructed and the site is easily accessible from Zvolen.
References:Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).
Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.
Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.
An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.
On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".