- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1564 · 16th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
- Style
- Renaissance architecture
- Heritage
- part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (an old town or a valley, for example)
- Coordinates
- 48.4558°, 18.8962°
History
After Hungary's defeat at Mohács in 1526 and the Ottoman advance that followed, the mining town of Banská Štiavnica set about strengthening its defences. In 1564–1571 the townspeople built a six-storey tower with four corner bastions on the hill facing the Old Castle, to serve as a lookout and signalling post. It formed part of a system of fortifications that protected the town from Ottoman raids for more than a century. Once the threat had passed, the building lost its military role. In 1993 it was inscribed on the UNESCO list together with the historic town and its mining monuments.
What to see
The white tower with the red roofs of its bastions rises above the historic centre and is one of the town's emblems. Inside is a Slovak Mining Museum exhibition on the wars against the Ottomans in the 16th and 17th centuries, with weapons and models of fortifications. The upper floors look out over the old town's roofs, the Old Castle and the surrounding Štiavnica Mountains.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q4175884
Popularity: articles about this site in 14 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).