Great Fatra (Veľká Fatra), castles, chateaus

The Renaissance mansion in Turčianska Štiavnička was built in the second half of the 16th century, modified in the Baroque-Classicist style. At the beginning of the 1990s, extensive reconstruction began, but it has not yet been completed. At present, the manor house is not accessible to the public and is gradually deteriorating. The mansion also includes an extensive English park with a winter garden, lakes and rare trees. The park, which continuously grows into the surrounding forests, keeps the village and is open to the public. Visitors can see almost 400 tree species from all over the world....

The town castle was once formed by several ancient buildings in the central Slovakian metropolis Banská Bystrica. Its task was to protect the income proceedings of copper and silver mining for the royal treasury. The town castle was built gradually. The parish church was built as the first structure in the 13th century and fortifications were added to it in the 15th century. Earth ramparts and palisades were later replaced by tall stone walls fortified by bastions and a water dike. In the 16th century, the Turkish threat called for further fortifications. Only a quarter of the original town...