The Blue Rock castle was built in the 12th century by an important and weighty Ugrian family of the Balassas that lived here till the half of the 19th century. An important Renaissance poet and an anti–Turkish fighter, Bálint Balassi /1554-1594/, comes of this family. The last owner, Countess Gabriela Almássy sold the castle with manor-house and neighbouring lands to the Czecho-Slovak State in 1923.
The area of the castle is created by ruins of the Gothic castle from the 12th century and of a Baroque castle from 1730 that is a seat of a museum at present. Part of the Baroque castle is a chapel of St. Anna built in 1759. Together with the nearby Calvary, natural reservation Blue-Rock forest steppe and Chestnut area it creates an interesting historical-cultural unit providing the visitors with nice experience as well as relax.
Stable expositions:
- History and present times of Slovak puppet theatre, theatrical puppets from the world
- Toys in Slovakia in the 20th century
- Ethnographic exposition of the region
- A sight in the history of dental techniques and dentistry
- Bálint Balassi – life and work
- Viticulture exposition
- Archaeological findings of Poiplie (river-basin of the river Ipeľ)
- A view from the castle bastion
Tel.: +421/47/4870 218, +421/47/4870194
Email: muzeum@procomp.sk
Open:
- May – October from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (daily)
- November - April from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday)
