Lietava Castle Ruins, Lietava, Slovakia

Lietava Castle was built after 1241, most likely as an administrative and military centre. In the early 14th century, it is mentioned with Máté Csák III, one of the powerful magnates in the Kingdom of Hungary. The castle changed hands until the 16th century when the Thurzó family gained it. It was reconstructed and fortified, and given its own military garrison. After the death of Imre Thurzó in 1621, it was divided between his heirs. After the ownership disputes in 1641, they lost interest in it. The castle report in 1698 said that the castle was uninhabited and there was only an archive, which was moved to the Orava Castle in the 1760s. After that, the castle was abandoned and not used any more.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Jozef Dikoš (3 years ago)
Easy walking,wonderful view

Richard Kollar (3 years ago)
Nice, well maintained historical place with exposition that you can touch. + bar inside

Dinna Mag (3 years ago)
destroyed natural castle , we enjoyed the day in nice weather and mini cafeteria. also goats family :) good enough to track all the way up woth kids :)

Ivan Staffen (3 years ago)
Nice destination for a short walk. Under reconstruction, but still a lot things to see.

Juraj Tilesch (3 years ago)
Great place to visit, but it's poorly marked. Use the car park at the bottom in Majer and than follow the blue tourist sign.

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Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

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Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

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