Blatnica Castle
| Blatnica Castle | ||
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 Part of the castle ruins, with the Great Fatra in the background |
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| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Blatnica | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 56 '50 " N , 18 ° 56' 51" E | |
| Height: | 658 m nm | |
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The ruins of the Blatnica Castle ( Blatnický hrad in Slovak ) are the ruins of a hilltop castle on a karst ridge two kilometers north of the municipality of the same name in Okres Martin in northern Slovakia . It is located at an altitude of 658 m nm , on a mountain between the Turčianska kotlina basin in the west and the Great Fatra mountains to the east .
The castle was built in the middle of the 13th century and is first mentioned in a document from 1300, when it belonged to a certain Peter from Brezovica. Later the castle became a royal estate and served to protect a trade route called via magna from Neutra to the north. Later this route was relocated further west, so the castle lost its importance and was pawned several times by the Hungarian kings. For this reason, the castle often changed hands in the 15th and early 16th centuries, who only used the castle, but did not expand or maintain it. Only with the arrival of the Révay dynasty in 1540 did the castle receive an extension. In the second half of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century, a bailey was built next to the castle. Blatnica Castle reached its last climax at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, first with the Thököly uprising and finally with the Rákóczi uprising , when the rebels took the castle for themselves both times. After both uprisings were suppressed, the castle became meaningless. It was rebuilt in 1744, but has been uninhabited since 1790 and is slowly falling into disrepair.
The castle itself consisted of a long and narrow castle palace, protected by semicircular towers at the north and south ends and by a ravine to the northeast. Because of its exposed location, the western tower was significantly larger than the eastern one. On the southeast side was the forecourt enclosed by the ramparts. On the west side was the entrance, which crossed a ditch carved in the rock.
Today the castle ruins are freely accessible from Blatnica through a yellow marked path towards the Gaderská dolina valley .
Web links
- Description on www.zamky.sk (Slovak)
