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Blatnice Castle on a steep hill behind the village of the same name was built in the second half of the 13th century and we have the first report about it from 1300, when it was owned by Peter of Brezovice. It later became a royal property. The castle was built to protect the road called magna via, which leads north from Nitra. When the more comfortable road from Nitra via Mošovce to Martin and further north began to be used, the old road under the name antiqua via lost its original meaning and the importance of the castle declined.

Blatnický castle

Blatnice Castle on a steep hill behind the village of the same name was built in the second half of the 13th century and we have the first report about it from 1300, when it was owned by Peter of Brezovice. It later became a royal property. The castle was built to protect the road called magna via, which leads north from Nitra. When the more comfortable road from Nitra via Mošovce to Martin and further north began to be used, the old road under the name antiqua via lost its original meaning and the importance of the castle declined.

Therefore, the rulers were not more interested in him. It was often given as a deposit, so in the 15th and in the first half of the 16th century the castle passed through the hands of various owners (Pongrác of St. Nicholas, Peter Komorovský, the Necpalsk family, Juštovec family, etc.), who often only managed and used it, than they maintained. The castle was expanded by the Révay family, who took possession of it in 1540. In the second half of the 16th and at the beginning of the 17th century, they built a large fortification with new buildings. At the end of the 17th century, the castle was seized by the rebels of Imrich Thököly and at the beginning of the 18th century by the Kurucs of František Rákóczi II. After the uprising subsided, the importance of Blatnice Castle declined. In 1744 they had it repaired, but in 1790 it was no longer inhabited and since then it has been slowly abandoned.

The castle consisted of a long, relatively narrow palace, reinforced on the north and south sides by semicircular towers and protected on the northeast side by a steep abyss. The western tower, built in a more vulnerable place, is much more powerful and larger than the eastern one. It was accessed by a separate spiral staircase, built on its southern side. On the southeast, more accessible side, was a small courtyard enclosed by walls with a square tower. The wall of fortifications that surrounded the first courtyard had an entrance in the west above a moat cut into the rock. It was protected by an open round bastion.

Current status

The masonry of the western tower has been preserved, which still rises to a great height even today, and slit loopholes can be seen. The upper castle, sandwiched between two towers, unfortunately falls apart considerably - especially its connecting palace part. On the farm buildings in the lower castle, the demanding blocking is quite well preserved. The masonry is slowly weathering into the valley, especially above the steep slope. It is possible to ascend to both areas along the bastions and there is a wonderful view from there. However, the castle, like any ruin, is accessible only at your own risk, so be careful.

For more than a year, a civic association has been trying to prevent the castle from completely disintegrating and merging with the surrounding environment, but at least some of its past glory has been preserved for future generations: Diadém - Blatnica Castle Rescue Association, which in 2008 with the PSVaR office in Martin, it carried out various cleaning works of the fortification and minor preparatory works necessary for the implementation of future initial rescue work already on the castle building itself.


access

From Blatnice on foot, under the castle Gaderská dolina, less than 2 km to the first mountain hut, from the mountain hut up to the castle does not mark. sidewalk for about 1/4 hour. If you want to shorten the route as much as possible, from the village next to the church on a meadow along the hillside to a slight saddle, from there slightly to the right to the castle. From the crossroads of Gaderská and Konská valleys to the tourist sign.


Additional information

Transport: By foot, By bike, By car, By train, By bus
Parking: Free parking nearby

Accepted payments: Cash
Languages: Slovak

Suitable for: Childrens, Families with childrens, Elderly, Cyclists, Young, Adults
Season: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Updated on: 11.6.2019
Source: Blatnica

Opening hours

Weather

Not specified


Contact

Blatnický castle
Hrad Blatnica
038 15  Blatnica
Region: Žilinský
District: Martin
Area: Turiec
 48.947202, 18.947082

Hrad Blatnica
038 15  Blatnica

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