Trencin castle

The lower courtyard offers visitors unique views of the city of Trenčín and the surrounding area.

The well of love is an inseparable part of Trenčín Castle as a legendary symbol of the love of Omar and Fatima.

The castle well is associated with the legend of the love of the Turkish nobleman Omar for the beautiful Fatima , a prisoner of the Trenčín castle lord Štefan Zápoľský .

To free Fatima, Omar promised to dig a well in the hard rock at Trenčín Castle. He dug with his companions for three years, until the rock actually released water, but only a few of the diggers survived. Omar handed the first glass of water to Zápoľský with the words: "You have water from Zápoľský, but you do not have a heart" . As Omar carried the freed Fatima on horseback from the castle, her veil was caught on an arrow bush. The oldest inn in Trenčín , called "Fatima" or, in earlier times, "Veil" still stands on that place.

The barracks at Trenčín Castle was built as part of an extensive fortification program implemented during the tenure of Trenčín Castle by the magnate family of the Zápoľsk family in the first half of the 16th century. They were used to accommodate the team of the castle garrison.

The barracks building at Trenčín Castle was built as part of an extensive fortification program implemented during the tenure of Trenčín Castle by the magnate family of the Zápoľsk family in the first half of the 16th century. They were used to accommodate the team of the castle garrison , or even assigned units. They were also used as an arsenal, ie a warehouse and repository of military armaments and equipment. Dust barrels and bullets for works, hooks and muskets were stored here, along with cold wooden weapons such as halberds, spears, spears and spades, as well as entire sets or individual parts of protective armor. The barracks building was also to provide an access road from the city to the castle.

The oldest part of the barracks is the western wall, originally connecting the Clock Tower with the Upper Castle, the position of which is related to the construction activity of Matúš Čák . This early Gothic phase can be dated to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.

The late Gothic phase from the beginning of the 16th century is already connected with the construction of the barracks themselves, which are connected to the older wall. In the first decades of the 16th century, a two-storey building with today's dimensions of 36 x 10-17 m was built as an extension to the wall. Although some authors have in the past tended to conclude that the barracks were built as a three-story building from the beginning, recent research has not confirmed this hypothesis. The ground floor of the building was accessible through a portal on the north facade. The building was already covered with a solid hip roof at this stage.

The third phase, referred to as late Gothic II., Consists in the overexposure of the Miners on the third floor. This reconstruction was probably carried out only after the destructive siege of the castle in 1528, probably in the period around 1534 - 1550.

The fourth construction phase is already renaissance, but it was reflected in the overall construction in more detail.

At present, the ground floor and second floor space are used for exhibition purposes.

On the first floor there is a permanent exhibition Unconquered. It consists of two parts.

The historical consists of medieval and modern cold, firearms or firearms.

The archaeological part is devoted to the results of the archaeological research of the barracks

The Famine offers visitors an exhibition with replicas of medieval torture instruments and to learn interesting information about the so-called suffering law from the history of the city of Trenčín.

The south-eastern cylindrical bastion, also called the "Royal Tower", was built in the 15th century by Sigismund of Luxembourg, originally as a lookout tower.
Interior of the Famine
According to later tradition, it began to serve as a castle prison and famine. Through the hole 45 x 45 cm it is possible to get to the basement. It is 9 m deep. However, no document has been preserved that someone was starving here. It was more of an intimidating way of imprisonment.

In the bastion there is an exposition called "Hladomorňa - Teufelsturm" , which is accessible within the sightseeing circuit A of Trenčín Castle. Visitors can see replicas of medieval torture instruments and learn interesting information about the so-called suffering law from the history of the city of Trenčín. The more adventurous can also try the log , located in front of the entrance to the exhibition.

Matúš's tower is the dominant feature of Trenčín Castle. It was built at the end of the 11th century in the Romanesque style and around 1270 it was surrounded by a brick mantle and modified in the Gothic style.

The oldest building of a residential and defensive nature at Trenčín Castle is the main refuge tower (bergfrid, donjon), traditionally called Matúšova. It was built at the end of the 11th century in the Romanesque style and around 1270 it was surrounded by a brick mantle and modified in the Gothic style.

According to tradition, Matúš Čák Trenčiansky has his study on the fourth floor of the tower, and there is also a small exhibition dedicated to this controversial figure in our history. On the individual floors we can find exhibited targets from the 19th century and on the walls the coats of arms of the individual holders and captains of Trenčín Castle. From the top floor of the tower is a unique view of a large part of Považie.

The lower courtyard offers visitors unique views of the city of Trenčín and the surrounding area.

The well of love is an inseparable part of Trenčín Castle as a legendary symbol of the love of Omar and Fatima.

The barracks at Trenčín Castle was built as part of an extensive fortification program implemented during the tenure of Trenčín Castle by the magnate family of the Zápoľsk family in the first half of the 16th century. It was used to accommodate the team of the castle garrison.

The Famine offers visitors an exhibition with replicas of medieval torture instruments and the opportunity to learn interesting information about the so-called suffering law from the history of the city of Trenčín.

Ľudovít Palace on the 1st floor of a Gothic palace, modified to its current form in II. In the middle of the 20th century, there is a newly established exhibition of historical period furniture from the period from the 17th to the 19th century.

There are three palaces on the castle acropolis. The oldest is Ľudovít Palace , which was built in the second half of the 14th century by King Ľudovít Veľký , right next to the oldest residential building in the castle - Matúš's tower.

On the 1st floor of a Gothic palace, modified to its current form in II. in the middle of the 20th century there is a newly established exposition of historical period furniture from the period of the 17th to the 19th century "Reminiscences" coming from the collections of the Trenčín Museum in Trenčín. All furniture and home accessories (paintings, weapons, decorative items) are originals from the former estates of the owners and later owners of the castle. Since the castle burned down almost entirely in 1790, the original furniture was preserved only minimally in its premises.

Both rooms of the palace are furnished as salons. The first - hunting presents the most popular entertainment of the high nobility - hunting. The hobby in hunting, typical of the representatives of the "blue blood", is presented by exhibited weapons, caught trophy pieces of big game and scenic Baroque paintings. Leather seating furniture is complemented by chest of drawers, table cabinet from 1730 (which is the first ever collection of today's museum under order no. 1) and rare and unique storage cabinets from the middle of the 17th century. with typical large-scale ornamentalism. An interesting feature is a rare mother-of-pearl inlaid table in the back of the room and (for the oldest collection item) - a large cabinet for silver and copper dishes.

The second salon from the period of the Empire and historicism shows a sample of housing culture from 1830-1890. Second salon The original Empire-style seating furniture is complemented by a dining sideboard and chest of drawers in the historicist style. The portraits of the members of the Habsburg dynasty served by the family are complemented by rare oriental handmade large-scale embroidery on silk evoked by the fashion trends of the time inspired by the Far East (China, Japan).

In the ground floor of Ľudovít Palace, the Trenčín Museum houses another part of the exposition of the Ilešházi Family Gallery and paintings from Ilešházov residences, which enriched this unique collection with other biblical themes, Greek mythology, portraits of royal families and Habsburg portraits as well as Habsburgs. Two evangelical paintings are interesting.

Barborin Palace's first room, the Knight's Hall, is the largest room in the castle. In the 16th century, the hall had a lunette vault, after which only traces have been preserved. Other rooms served as living spaces.

Barborin's palace was built for his second wife Barbora Celská by Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg around 1430th

During the construction, they used the older fence fortification and the outer wall of Matúš's palace , to which the other stone walls were added. On this you can see the original windows with preserved Gothic frescoes from the 13th century.

The first room, the Knight's Hall , is the largest room in the castle. In the 16th century, the hall had a lunette vault, after which only traces have been preserved. Other rooms served as living spaces. One was a wardrobe and the other a bedroom for Queen Barbara. The bedroom was connected to the basement by stairs and a trapdoor. Wine and food warehouses and probably a black kitchen were located underground.

The palace was a representative building. It is currently used for occasional exhibitions and weddings.

The rotunda, a unique four-leaf clover plan, distinguishes the Trenčín Rotunda from all hitherto known central buildings in Slovakia.
Lapidary of the basement of Barborinho Palace with an exhibition of fragments of stone articles.

Between Barborin's Palace, Matúš's Tower and the Fifth Gate , the foundations of the pre-Romanesque Rotunda were discovered during archaeological research in 1972-1975 . This find not only shifted the dating of the beginnings of Trenčín Castle, but it has become one of the oldest sacral buildings in our territory.

The unique four-leaf clover floor plan distinguishes the Trenčín Rotunda from all hitherto known central buildings in Slovakia. The Rotunda is documented by grave finds until the end of the 11th century. The possibility that it is a Great Moravian architecture is admitted. Almost the same floor plan can be found in the Moravian Mikulčice, where the Great Moravian horizon is indisputable.

The lower courtyard offers visitors unique views of the city of Trenčín and the surrounding area.

It is only possible to purchase this circuit from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm