SMOLENICE CASTLE

The Smolenice Castle (Smolenický zámok) is a castle in the eastern slope of the Little Carpathians, near the town of Smolenice in Slovakia. The castle was build up in the half of 15th century, but it was destroyed during the Rakoci's uprising and Napoleanic wars. In 1777 the count Jan Palffy from Pezinok inherited the entire Smolenice but did not reside in the castle due to its poor condition and lack of money for rebuilding it. The castle was only rebuilt up in the 20th century, by order of the count Jozef Palffy. The main building has two wings and a tower, and is made of ferroconcrete. The castle was damaged in the spring of 1945 during the 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 26th 1953 the castle is property of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The castle serves now as a conference centre.

The castle is open to the public:

• in the months of September to June, on weekends from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m
• in the summer months of July and August, every day from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m

During the tours in the summer months of July and August, the buffet in the lower courtyard is open every day except Monday.

ATTENTION: in the case of some social events, the interior or exterior of the castle may be closed to the public.