Kremnica castle comprises a compound of medieval buildings from the 14th through 15th centuries, protected with double fortifications to which town walls are connected. The town walls rank among the best-preserved town fortifications in Slovakia.
The Church of St. Catherine, the patron saint of the town, is the dominant sight of the castle area. The church, with the interior in the Neo-Gothic style, is well-known also because of the unique organ recitals. In the 15th century, the church tower was added, which acquired the present Renaissance appearance after a fire in 1560. For centuries, there used to be guards who would warn people of any danger. The guards` room is currently used for exhibition purposes and it also offers the most beautiful view of the town and its environs. In order to get to the exhibition, visitors have to climb 127 steps of the stone spiral stair-case.
The oldest architectural monument of the castle area and of the town in general is the ossuary from the early 14th century. The ossuary itself is accessible in the basement while the Chapel of St. Andrew with Gothic wall painting constitutes the upper part.
The museum offers to town-castle visitors also historical and art expositions in other museum premises: Baroque Plastic Art in the Town Hall, Archeological research of the Castle and Town`s Defence in the Northern Tower and Kremnica Bells and Bell Founders in the Little Clock Tower. The Miners` Bastion is part of the fortifications.
References:Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.
Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.
Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.