Trencin Castle (Trenčiansky hrad) - Parking, opening hours, history...

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Looking at Trencin Castle (Trenčiansky hrad), one might think he is looking at a postcard. The fortress rises on the limestone cliff (Maria Hill) in the heart of the village of Trenčín, above the Vah valley. The white-walled castle with a wooden roof has recently been renovated. However, this is not a painting but the seat of Matthew III Csák.

Overview

Photos

Where is Trenčín Castle?

Address, distance, contact, approach

The castle is located in the northwestern part of Slovakia, not far from the Czech border. The home of the fortress is the Vah Valley. It is only 1.5 hours from Bratislava. From the western edge of the Great Fatra, the castle is located for 45 minutes.

• Address: Matúšova 75/19, 912 50 Trenčín, Slovakia
• Distance from Bratislava: 1.5 hours / 130 km
• Distance from Banská Bystrica: 2 hours / 140 km
• Distance from Beckov Castle: 25 minutes / 21 km
• Distance from Kosice: 4 hours / 330 km

About the castle

The cliff is steep on three sides, providing perfect protection for the castle. Only the south side is less dramatic. In the castle, you could find everything that a medieval castle had to contain. Although not all former buildings can be seen today, there will be plenty to see.

• Exterior castle wall, connecting castle wall
• First and second gates, suspension bridge and moat
• Bastions, tower (rectangular)
• Chapel, mill
• Castle well, cistern
• Barracks, the castle courtyard

There is a museum in the castle, which presents the life of the medieval nobility in the castle, the weapons of that time in the Barbora's palace, the prehistoric finds of the area and the ethnographic past in the Louis Palace. A gallery has been set up in the farm building.

Parts of the castle

Trenčín Castle can be divided into 3 parts

• Forecourt (picture: 1 - 20)
• Second door (picture: 20 - 28)
• Upper castle (picture: 29 - 45)

History of the castle

In the 11th century, a bastion was already standing on the site of the castle, which served defence purposes. In the 13th century, the larger castle withstood the Tartar invasion, but Hungarian king Bela IV continued to push for improvements.

With the extinction of the Árpád dynasty, Matthew III Csák established his seat in the castle. He fortified the bastion here and named it Matthew's Bastion, and had a palace built.

After his death, Charles I of Hungary became the owner of the castle and the estate. He was followed by Louis the Great, who fortified the upper castle.

The castle was later taken over by Sigismund, who, as a Czech king, was opposed to the Hussites, so he fortified the castle of Trencín in anticipation of an attack from Hungary. The Hussites attacked the castle, but it persevered.

It was then that the Barbora's Palace and the castle chapel were built, indicating that Sigismund of Luxembourg had donated the castle to his wife, Barbora.

In the 15th century, the castle was removed from the hands of the ruler for a short time, but it was regained by Matthias Corvinus in 1462 (by negotiation). He later pledged it to John Zápolya. The Zápolya family strengthened the castle due to the development of shooting techniques. Three new walls were erected, and a double ditch was formed.

In 1663, the Turks set Trencin on fire, but no attempt was made to siege the castle. The castle could never be occupied thanks to the ditch system and the three walls.

The legend of the Castle

How was the Trenčín Castle built?

Legend has it that a wealthy farmer called James lived in the neighbourhood, as usual, was so proud of his money that he wanted to build a stone house for himself. As construction approached, the rich peasant decided not to build a stone house for himself but a stone castle! He hired 12 carpenters and 12 masons for the work.

In his pride, he began to spread in the village that he would build a large castle that not even the Devil could take. The Devil didn't answer that, so James the rich began to build his fortress.

However, under cover of the night, the Devil carried away the stones he had built. In the morning, no one understood what had happened to the foundation, so they built it up again. That’s how it went for 12 days before James got to the brink of madness.

A lame shepherd finally spoke to Rich James and whispered that a castle had been built on Mary Hill every night for 12 days from his stolen stones.

Opening hours

The castle is open every day, but the daily opening hours vary from season to season. From May to the end of September is the summer high season.

• May to September: 09:00 to 19:00
• October - April: 09:00 - 16:45

Admission and prices

You cannot buy tickets to the castle online, only on the spot. During the visit, you have the opportunity to take part in the "Grand tour" or the "Basic tour".

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