Topoľčany Castle"s construction at the beginning of the 14th century is attributed to Máté Csák. During the 'gallant” Hussite crusades the castle became a temporary Hussite stronghold. The castle often changed hands, and temporarily belonged to the Forgách Dynasty. The castle’s final owners abandoned it in the late 18th century, but its charm has remained to the present day. Today its main tower in Romantic style with well preserved fortifications dominates in the horizon.
References:Ehrenbreitstein Fortress was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, Festung Koblenz, by Prussia between 1817 and 1832 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The fortress was never attacked.
Early fortifications at the site can be dated back to about 1000 BC. At about AD 1000 Ehrenbert erected a castle. The Archbishops of Trier expanded it with a supporting castle Burg Helferstein and guarded the Holy Tunic in it from 1657 to 1794. Successive Archbishops used the castle's strategic importance to barter between contending powers; thus in 1672 at the outset of war between France and Germany the Archbishop refused requests both from the envoys of Louis XIV and from Brandenburg's Ambassador, Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal, to permit the passage of troops across the Rhine.