- Type
- Ruin
- Origins
- 13th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Style
- Gothic architecture
- Coordinates
- 49.1745°, 18.8624°
History
The castle probably arose around 1300 as a watchpost and customs station on the route along the Váh; the first mention of the stone castle dates from 1316, when it was held by Matthew Csák, and a charter of 1358 refers to the toll collected below it for crossing the Váh. It then became royal property, and from the 15th century passed to various families, including the Pongrácz in 1444–1469. In the 17th century it came to the Wesselényis; Ferenc Wesselényi's wife was Žofia Bosniaková, renowned for her piety and charity. In 1663–1664, while Wesselényi was preparing his plot against the Habsburgs, the castle was rebuilt as a modern fortress, so after recapturing it Emperor Leopold I had it demolished in 1698. In 1974–1995 the ruins were stabilised and partly rebuilt.
What to see
The ruins crown a steep rock above the Váh at the entrance to the Strečno gorge, surrounded by the Malá Fatra mountains. The rebuilt palace houses an exhibition of the Považie Museum, and the tower overlooks the bends of the river and the rafters who float down it. Below the castle stands a memorial to the French partisans who fought here in the Slovak National Uprising of 1944.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1014197
Popularity: articles about this site in 16 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).