Zvolen, castles, chateaus

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...

Town castle Kremnica is the complex of buildings built and fortified in 13th - 15th century. The building of St. Katharine Church is dominant; it was built in Gothic style. In present time the castle is the residence of Coin and Medal Museum. Exposures: Baroque sculptures Kremnica bells Town defence Archaeological researches of the castle Opening hours June to September (Tuesday - Sunday) 08.30 - 12.00  13.00 - 17.30 October to May (Tuesday...

The castle complex of the Old Castle can be found in the center of Banská Štiavnica, directly above Trinity Square. His piece of Romanesque architecture can be considered the oldest preserved architectural monument in the town of Banská Štiavnica. It dates from the first years of the 13th century, when a community of miners built a large three-nave church here, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. At the end of the 15th century, the church was enlarged and fortified with walls. At the time of the Turkish...

The beautiful view of the historic center of Banská Štiavnica is just one of the experiences offered by a visit to the New Castle. A six-storey Renaissance fortification building built in 1564-1571 as an anti-Turkish watchtower in the system of fortifications of mining towns. It also served as a city clock. It is currently part of the Slovak Mining Museum. The exhibition presents the history of anti-Turkish wars in Slovakia. The visitor will learn about the importance of Banská Štiavnica and...

The Saint Anthony castle is also called Antol castle; it is a castle that is situated under the forest in the village of Svätý Anton (Saint Anthony) nearby Banská Štiavnica. It is a rather well preserved late Baroque-Classicistic castle with a large park. Since 1985, it has been evidenced as national cultural memory and it is made accessible also to the public. The late Baroque castle was built in 1744-1750 on the place of an older castle from the 15th century. The castle is precious due...

The Renaissance manor house, which stands under the castle hill, was built in 1670. Until 1945, it was owned by the Zichy family. After the war, the Forest Administration and JRD were based here. From 2011 to 2015, the manor underwent extensive reconstruction and currently houses the Museum of the History of the Village of Divín, which in its exhibitions offers visitors the history of the village, castle and manor as well as the natural beauty of Divín. The courtyard of the manor also offers a...

Čabraď is a ruin of castle located near the village Čabradský Vrbovok, in the middle of the Krupina Highlands on a hill above the valley Litava. Originally, this castle was called Litava. The castle was built in the 13th century in the village Huntovec to protect roads leading to the mining towns. In the second half of the 16th century it was an important fortress against the Turks. They tried several times in vain to conquer it. In 1511 the castle became the property of the Archbishop of...

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...

The HALIČ CASTLE dating from 1612 is the dominant feature of the village of Halič. It is situated on a lonely wooded hill. The view of the chateau is cut out of a fairy tale and the view from the windows of the chateau is magnificent. You can see 15 surrounding villages and, with good visibility, also some peaks of the High Tatras. The castle forest park has an area of ​​13 hectares with an artificial lake. The beginnings of Halič Castle date back to the 12th century - it is stated that...