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History
Leopold Prison is the oldest in Slovakia. The impetus for the construction of the fortress was the offensive of the Ottoman Empire and the occupation of the fortress in Nové Zámky. It covers an area of 56 hectares, built in the Renaissance style. There is also a prison museum, the visit of which is conditional on obtaining permission to enter.

Leopoldov Fortress

Leopold Prison is the oldest in Slovakia. The impetus for the construction of the fortress was the offensive of the Ottoman Empire and the occupation of the fortress in Nové Zámky. It covers an area of 56 hectares, built in the Renaissance style. There is also a prison museum, the visit of which is conditional on obtaining permission to enter.

There is a prison in the fortress and it is not open to the public.

Source: Hrady - Zámky (5.8.2021)

Interior and exterior

The fortress is built in the Renaissance style, covers an area of 56 hectares. It was built at the time according to the latest military defense technology. The model for the fortresses in Nové Zámky and Leopoldov was the Palmanova fortress in Italy. Leopold's anti-Turkish fortress has a star shape, it is formed by six five-pointed bastions placed in a circle connected by ravelins. It was surrounded by a moat. The eastern canal still exists and is used for waste water.

The street network was spaced apart. The six extended bastions formed small forts, on both sides of which were placed firing guns for cannons, which fired at the enemy in the crossfire.

The fortress has two gates: east of Hlohovec and west of the village Leopoldov. The entrance to the fortress was formed by drawbridges, which closed at night and in times of danger. The walls are made of stone, the foundations of the fortress and the corners of the bastions are made of large stone blocks. The walls are sloping. The height is approx. 10m, width 25m and thickness of bastions up to 50m. The inner diameter between the gates is 320m and the transverse distance from the corner of one bastion to the corner of the other bastion is 600m. A powerful fortress was built in such a small space, which no enemy conquered by attack.

Source: hrady-zamky.sk (5.8.2021)

History

The founding of the Leopold Fortress dates back to the second half of the 17th century, which in Europe was marked by Turkish wars and counter-Reformation. It was built in the years 1665 - 1669 after the fall of the fortress in Nové Zámky, conquered during the offensive of the Ottoman Empire. The fortress was handed over to its purpose in 1669. Above the west gate it is inscribed in large metal letters: LIDGRISAAAHBR - 1669. These are the initials of the Latin text: Leopoldus I, Dei Gratia Romanorum Imperator, Semper Augustus Archidux Austriae, Hungeriae, Bohemiseque Rex. - Anno 1669. In translation: Leopold the first, by the grace of God a Roman emperor, always noble, Austrian archduke, Hungarian and Czech king. Year 1669. The fortress was named in honor of Emperor Leopold I. After five years of construction (1665 - 1669), however, the fortress, which was once the most modern and most feared castle in Central Europe, did not intervene in the fighting with the Turks. However, it found its justification during the anti-Habsburg struggles. She was not threatened by a single siege or a direct blow. The fortress was the strongest fortress of the Habsburg Empire. In 1678 the Leopoldov fortress withstood Thököly the Kurucs, in 1706 it resisted the uprising of František Rákóczi. During the reign of Maria Theresa, it served as a storehouse and warehouse for the army, and in 1783 it was visited by Emperor Joseph II, who decided to place military veterans from Buda in it. In 1848, the fortress was acquired by the Hungarian insurgents, but on February 2, 1849, Colonel Ordóda surrendered to the commander of the imperial troops, General Šimunič. Later in 1855, after the loss of military significance, the fortress was rebuilt into a prison on the basis of Bach's decree, although even in an earlier period it served as a prison, when in the period of the Counter-Reformation , among them also Rector Ján Simonides and priest Tobiáš Masník. There is a consensus that Leopoldov was the worst of the prison facilities in communist Czechoslovakia, especially in the 1950s, together with concentration and labor camps alongside uranium mines, and is often referred to as a liquidation facility. During the communist regime, casemates, a church, factories and administrative buildings were destroyed due to the escapes of prisoners. The fortress was declared a national cultural monument on September 17, 1963. It currently continues to serve as a prison.

Source: hrady-zamky.sk (5.8.2021)

Additional information

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

Languages: Slovak

Suitable for: Childrens, Families with childrens, Elderly, Handicapped, Cyclists, Young, Adults
Season: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Updated on: 21.2.2022
Source: GoSlovakia

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Leopoldov Fortress
pevnosť
Leopoldov
Region: Trnavský
District: Hlohovec
Area: Trnavsko
 48.4446181, 17.7779174

Altitude: 143 m

pevnosť
Leopoldov

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