Lietava Castle
| Lietava Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | after 1241 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Lietava , Slovakia | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 9 '36 " N , 18 ° 41' 6" E | |
| Height: | 635 m nm | |
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Lietava Castle ( Slovak Hrad Lietava ; older names: Litova, Letava, Lethawa, Zsolnalitva) is the ruin of a hilltop castle in north-west Slovakia , above the villages of Lietava and Lietavská Svinná-Babkov , 635 m nm It is about nine kilometers from the center the city of Žilina .
Surname
The name is probably derived from the Old Slavic goddess Lietva ( Lada , Letva). She was the goddess of youth and spring. On the summit, where the castle ruins now stand, there was a sacrificial site for this goddess.
history
The medieval fortress was probably built by the Balassa family after 1241. Between 1300 and 1321 it is mentioned in connection with the oligarch Matthäus Csák . Thereafter, towards the end of the 14th century, the castle belonged directly to King Sigismund , then in the 15th century to different sexes, before it came to the Thurzo family in the 16th century . The last significant owner of the castle was the count and Hungarian palatine - George III. Thurzo from Bethlendorf . Yet there was only a very small garrison at the time - twelve men in 1604, much fewer than the 285 men 74 years earlier. After the death of Imre Thurzo in 1621 the castle was maintained by the heirs, after disputes the castle complex gradually fell into disrepair after 1641. The castle archive remained there until 1760 when it moved to the Arwaburg . Since then the castle has been abandoned and turned into ruins.
Current condition
Today the castle is relatively well preserved, but the condition worsened from year to year. In 2008, after years of negotiations with the local monuments office, a citizens' association acquired the castle. The aim of this association is to preserve Lietava Castle at least in its current state and to carry out the necessary renovation measures. For 2010, the American organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) listed the castle as one of the most endangered cultural monuments in the world.
Various security measures and basic renovations were carried out up to and including 2018; Among other things, a power line was laid to the castle, the main tower secured and covered with a ceiling, a tiled stove professionally restored and rebuilt. A small exhibition was set up at the castle in 2018. The castle and association are supported by the Slovak Ministry of Culture and the European Social Fund (ESF) .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lietavský hrad je v súkromných rukách , SME, accessed on November 8, 2011
- ^ Lietava Castle , World Monuments Fund, accessed November 8, 2011
- ↑ HradLietava ; accessed on December 10, 2018
- ↑ www.hradlietava.sk ; accessed on December 10, 2018
Web links
- Description on zamky.sk (Slovak)
- Description on hradlietava.sk (Slovak)