Levice Castle Ruins

The castle in Levice was built in the 13th century, when the near Tekovsky castle’s importance had declined due the devastation of Tartars. It was built on andesite rock, the remnants of Neogenic volcanic activity, which extended to the Štiavnica hills. The west side of the castle was bounded by the marshy meadow of the river Hron, with its several river branches. The castle itself had been a fortress for protection of the mining towns. Under the protection of the castle in the 14th century a settlement known as 'Big' or 'Old Levice' had been established, which is the real predecessor of today’s Levice town.

The 150 year long Turkish occupation, which started in the 16th century, weakened the town economically and made it more dependent on the castle’s estate. At this time the Levice castle, then already a royal castle, was listed among the 15 most important defence forts. In the middle of the 17th century the Turkish incursions grew stronger. Seeing the enemy’s huge numerical advantage, the captain gave up Levice without resistance. The Turks' rule in Levice lasted for only 224 days, when in 1664 by an unexpected action they were expelled out of the town. After the end of the Turkish wars Levice lost its important role as a frontier-castle and in 1699 in accordance with official orders it was abolished as a fort.

Frequent fires meant great disasters for Levice. In 1696 fire destroyed almost the whole town. In 1715 there were 195 taxpayers and 43 craftsmen in the town. In the time of Rákoczy’s Revolt in the 18th century the castle was in a very bad condition. In order to prevent from being used for military purposes the rebels decided to destroy it before leaving. The castle was never re-established and thus it lost its military importance.

References:

• Levice Official Website

Address

Svätého Michala 40, Levice, Slovakia

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Slovakia