Smolenice Castle, Smolenice, Slovakia

Smolenice Castle was built in the 15th century, but it was destroyed during Rákóczi's War of Independence and Napoleanic wars. In 1777, Count János Pálffy from Pezinok inherited Smolenice but did not reside in the castle due to its poor condition and lack of money for rebuilding it. The castle was rebuilt in the 20th century by order of Count József Pálffy. The architect Jozef Hubert designed the new castle by using Kreuzenstein castle near Vienna as a model, and the works were controlled by the architect Pavol Reiter from Bavaria. During its construction there were masters from Italy, Germany, Austria and Hungary, and 60 workmen from Smolenice and nearby villages. The main building has two wings and a tower, and is made of ferroconcrete.

The castle was damaged in the spring of 1945 during World War II, and in that same year the state became the owner of it. Some reconstructions have been made after 1950, and since June 26, 1953 the castle is property of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The castle serves now as a conference centre, and it is only opened to the public in summer season.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Patrik Hržič (12 months ago)
Really beautiful castle and good food at treeclub ?

Dávid Pribula (12 months ago)
Good but quite short tour of the Castle. This is located in a nice area though and you get to see the whole view from high up. The one thing bothering me is that they offer refreshments, but sell them in one register with tickets and is all done by one person. It was manageable when we were there but during peak hours it may be quite annoying.

Vladimir Kusnier (13 months ago)
Great for a family trip, combined with cave Driny visit, great restaurants down in the village, ice cream or coffee shops.

tata titi (13 months ago)
Beautiful park, with nice woods and walking trails...

prakash narwani (15 months ago)
Good for walking aroung grt atmosphere

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