West Slovakia

BECKOV - castle

Today romantic ruins, in the past a royal frontier guard castle on a steep rocky reef at merge between the lower and middle flow of the river Vah, had undergone many reconstructions in between the 13th and 16th centuries. The castle's ability to defend against Turkish raids approved in 1599, when Turks unsuccessfully besieged it. Since the fire in 1729 it has not been inhabited ever more.

Tel: +421/32/7777125, 7777314

BRATISLAVA - castle

The characteristic shape of "a table upside-down", which dominated to ancient vedutes as well as to contemporary views on Bratislava, the castle obtained in the 17th century. Though, the castle reef on the left bank of the river Danube remembers much more than this. The later Stone Age as well as the Great Morava basilica, or the famous era of the late Gothic. The castle became the residence of Hungarian kings, who were banished from Buda by Turkish army. After the reconstruction in 1751 - 1768 it became the seat of emperors. In 1811 the old castle burned out. New history of the castle started as late as in 1953, when arrangements were adopted to reconstruct it from the ruins (1956 - 1968). After rebuilding the castle obtained the former appearance as of the so called Theresian redesign towards the end of the 18th century. Expositions at the Bratislava castle contain rare pieces of Slovak national history from its beginning to these days including a valuable collection of coins and archeological memorabilities (Venusa from Moravany, scrap of a Neanderthal man scull from Sala and others). After the reconstruction in 1751 - 1768 it became an Imperial residence.

Tel: +421/2/59341626, 59341601

BRATISLAVA - Devin castle

Grandiose ruins of the fortress above the confluence of the rivers Danube and Morava is one of the most important sites in Slovakia. Devin ranks among the longest recorded castles in Slovakia. In Fuldic annals, 864 A. D., it is mentioned as "Dovina". The past and the settlement of its area is though by far ancient (the Stone Age, Celts, Romans). It was destroyed ultimately by Napoleon army, who blew it into air in 1809. Archaeological exposition shows findings from field work.

Tel: +421/2/65730105

BRODZANY- manor-house

A renaissance mansion dated to the 16th century. The later reconstruction works in the 17th to 19th centuries kept its nature of a fortress. The wife of A. S. Pushkin used to come to the castle with their children, as well as other representatives of Russian cultural and literary life. There is still a binding to the Pushkinian tradition as the rooms are used for the exposition of A. S. Pushkin's Literary Museum (the only museum of A, S. Pushkin abroad)

Tel: +421/38/7487263, 038/7487264

CACHTICE - castle and manor-house

One of the first castles securing the western border of the Hungarian Monarchy served in 1560 - 1614 as a home, and later as a prison, for the gloomily famous Cachtice Lady - Alzbeta Bathory. In the town beneath the ruins, there is a manor-house called "Draskovicovsky", built in the Late Renaissance (1668), which now offers an exposition of Slovak history, geography and literature.

Tel: +421/32/7787485

CASTA - the Cerveny Kamen castle

Originally a royal castle at Male Karpaty mountains is first recorded in writing by the half of the 13th century. The owners Fuggers had it rebuilt into a mighty fortress with a new bulwark system that had belonged to the top of the then military engineering. By the later adjustments, the castle was partially changed to a renaissance and baroque fortified scat. Later partial alterations had changed the castle's design to a Renaissance-Baroque fortified residence. Museum keeps rich collections of historical furniture and a gallery of paintings.

Tel: +421/33/6490216

LEDNICKE ROVNE - manor-house

The manor-house with an "English" park was built on Renaissance basement towards the end of the 16th century. It had been rearranged by a glasswork family Shreiber in the 19th century. A museum of glasswork technology in the manor shows the history and the present of it. In 1892, a glass factory was founded in the municipality that had later become one of the most up-to-date in the Central Europe, and had been the biggest in Slovakia.

MORAVANY NAD VAHOM - manor-house

The Renaissance manor-house with characteristic bended attic is surrounded with English park decorated with sculptures carved by artists from all over the world during international symposia of plastic art. Now it serves as a Home of Slovak creative artists. Moravany village is a significant archeologic spot made famous by the finding of a sculpture carved from mammoth bone - the Stone Age Venusa from Moravany, with estimated age 22, 800 years. The sculpture is exhibited at the Bratislava castle museum.

Tel: +421/33/7747407, 7625654

NITRA- castle

The residence of Nitra earls and Great Morava sovereigns (Pribina and Svatopluk), built in the 9th - 11rh cent., it resisted the invasion of Tartars in 1241 but not the Turkish raid in 1663. After the latter the castle got basically the present appearance with the colossal walls of Renaissance and Baroque. It has been the headquarters of the Nitra Bishop with a Cathedral and a Bishop Palace.

Tel: +421/37/7721724, 037/7721747

SMOLENICE - chateau

After a fire in the beginning of the 19th century the former 14th century guard fortress was in the 19th - 20th century essentially redesigned to the today's appearance of a romance domicile of kings and princesses. In present it is utilised by the Slovak Academy of Science for its work and recreation purposes.

Tel: +421/33/5586191-4

TOPOLCIANKY - manor

One of the most important manors of Classicism-Empire style in Slovakia, surrounded by a vast English park with plenty of rare foreign trees and bushes. It ranks among the most ample and best preserved. It used to be a summer residence of the Habsburgs as well as of the Czechoslovak Presidents (1923 - 1950). Interior serves for exposition of historical furniture, collection of porcelain and weapons, Turkish salon, and a precious library of more than 14, 000 volumes.

Tel: +421/37/6301111

TRENCIN - castle

The history of the reef dates back to the Roman Empire, which is evidenced by an inscription saying about the victory of the and Roman legion over Germans at Eaugaritio in 179 A. D. The castle became a residence of the legendary "Master of the river Vah and Tatra mountains" -Matus Cak, after whom the big tower characteristic for the silhouette of the fortress is named, Trencin museum utilises the interiors for its exhibitions of Regional and focal history, historical furniture, weapons, paintings and other pieces of art, a permanent gallery and archeologic collections and findings.

Tel: +421/32/7432396, 032/7434431, 032/7435589, 032/7440753

Visit also…

BUDMERICE - manor-house from the 19th century in pseudostyles of romanticising, today the Home of Slovak writers; accommodation.

DOLNA KRUPA - the Classicism manor-house was visited by Beethoven and it is said that some of his compositions originated here; Music museum.

DUNAJSKA STREDA - manor-house in Baroque Rococo style is the establishment of the museum of national history and nature of the Zitny ostrov region.

GALANTA - manor-house from the 19th cent, with museum of history, geography and literature.

HLOHOVEC - grandiose Baroque manor-house with an English park and Empire theatre (1802) renewed in the original design

KOMARNO - Renaissance anti-Turk fortress* with star-redoubt, museum of the Danube region - historical paintings, regional history.

ILAVA - KLOBUSICE - classicist mansion, museum of trade, accommodation. Classicist manor-house.

LEVICE - in the 16th century one of the anti-Turk fortresses, today location of the Tekov regional museum with interesting national history collections.

MODRA - manor-house with an orchard, exposition of viticulture accompanied with wine tasting.

PEZINOK - former medieval manor, refurbished to a mansion with a vast park and a style wine-cellar. Originally a medieval manor, reconstructed.

POVAZSKA BYSTRICA - ORLOVE - initially a Renaissance manor-house, rebuilt under Baroque lines, with museum of history, geography and literature (archeoiogic findings, displays of natural history, ethnographic collections).

SENICA - Late Baroque manor-house, nowadays the headquarters of the Zahorie region Gallery.

TESARSKE MLYNANY - the historical building of the manor is inhabited by the Institute of Dendrobiology of the Slovak Academy of Science which manages the Arboretum Mlynany (61 hectares, approximately 2, 200 species of conifer and deciduous trees and shrubs).

TOPOLCANY - TOVARNIKY - a pompous Baroque manor-house with a vast English park.