The beginnings of the habitation of the rocky promontory above the Slatina river can be assumed already in the early Middle Ages, when a Slavic castle was located in these places. Later, a monastic building was created here, probably administered by the Templar order. After their demise, the property probably fell into the hands of another order of the Johannites (later they began to be called the Knights of Malta) or King Charles Robert. In 1325, King Charles Robert of Anjou founded the first secular order of knights in Europe – the Hungarian Fraternal Militia – the Order of the Knights of St. George. His son Ludovít I., called the Great (from Anjou), later continued as a grand master in the knightly order - the Hungarian Fraternal Militia and accepted even more members into the order than his predecessor. Ľudovít I builds a castle residence on Vígľaš, later it is completed by Sigismund of Luxemburg and has it rebuilt into a hunting lodge.
The Hungarian king, the Roman-German emperor and later the Czech king Sigmund Luxemburg with his wife Barbara Celjska founded the Order of the Dragon in 1408. They receive their followers and rulers and form a coalition with them. Vígľaš Castle becomes the meeting place of this order. Later, Sigismund put the castle in the care of Queen Barbara, who managed it until his death. The surrounding royal forests provided many opportunities for relaxation and hunting.
In the second half of the 16th century, the castle played an important role in the anti-Turkish battles. At that time, they built a new fortification with four corner towers and kept a permanent military garrison in it. In 1605, it was temporarily seized by the rebels of Štefan Bočkay. Later it came into the private ownership of feudal families. First, it was owned by the Csáky family from 1636 and the Esterházy family from 1690 until the end of feudalism. They rebuilt it into a castle mansion in the 18th century, so relatively little has been preserved from its original state (a Gothic chapel and part of the fortifications from the 16th century). The castle was last restored in the second half of the 19th century. During World War II, it was damaged and largely burned down.
In 2009, the ruins of the castle were bought by the Rekitar family. We owe the castle's present appearance to the extensive reconstruction that was completed in 2013.
Zámok Vígľaš
Vígľaš č. 602
962 02 Vígľaš
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