Trenčín Castle

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Trenčín Castle

The Trenčín Castle (also Trenčín castle and Trenčín Castle , Slovak Trenčiansky hrad ) is located in the city of Trenčín in northwestern Slovakia .

history

Trenčín Castle
Ascent to the castle
View of the Trenčín Castle

The castle was built on a steep rock in the 11th century. It was a royal castle under which a city gradually developed. The mighty fortification is the result of the gradual improvement of the important border fortress and the later Trenčín county seat . The castle played an important role in the history of the Kingdom of Hungary , especially during the Turkish invasions.

Matthäus Csák ( Matúš Čák , Máté Csák ) came into possession of the castle in 1302 and from here practically ruled all of western and central Slovakia until his death in 1321. After his death, the castle became royal property again. His father Peter Csák had the 39 m high central tower rebuilt between 1260 and 1270.

On August 24, 1335, the Trenčín Treaty was signed at Trenčín Castle . Contracting parties were the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg and his son Margrave Karl and the Polish King Casimir the Great . Kasimir's brother-in-law, the Hungarian King Charles of Anjou, acted as a mediator in the contract negotiations . With the treaty, Casimir the Great gave up all of Poland's claims to the Piast- dominated Silesian duchies . In return, John of Luxembourg and his son Karl renounced the Polish royal title that they had inherited from the Přemyslids .

Also at Trenčín Castle, Kasimir's successor, Louis I, in 1372, in his capacity as King of Poland, fully confirmed the Trenčín waiver of 1335.

In the course of time, other objects were added to the robust Matthäusturm: the Mühl and Jeremiasturm as well as the Ludwigs, Barbara and Zápolyapalast . King Sigismund of Luxembourg had the Barbara Palace, which is characteristic of today's castle, built for his second wife Barbara .

In 1600 the Illésházys inheritance became the owners of the castle. From 1663 to 1782, a German garrison settled in the castle. In 1742 the castle was rebuilt and used as barracks after 1782. Ján Illésházy's plans to renovate the castle were not carried out because it was destroyed by fire in 1790. More intensive renovation work only began in 1956 and continues to this day.

Castle owners, castle keepers and lords

  • Bolesław I , called the Brave (1001-1018)
  • Michael (1193–1195 Trenčín team )
  • Stoysa and Brothers (1208 Castle Captain )
  • Lodomerius (1240 Trenčín team )
  • Bogomir (1241–1244 Trenčín team )
The members of the Csák family
  • Stefan Csák (1275 Trenčín team , son of Matthew I. Csák )
  • Peter Csák de Trencsén ( father of Matthew III. )
  • Matthew (III.) Csák (1296–1321)
  • Stefan Bohemus von Sternberg (1321) ( nephew of Matthew (III.) Csák )
The Anjou royal family and the high-ranking nobles
  • Charles I.
  • Ludwig I.
  • Maria (1371-1395)
  • Nicolaus Uljaki (1352-1357)
  • Peter Cudara by Onodu (1373-1375)
  • Georg Bebek of Pelsöci ( Plešivec )
The royal families Luxemburg and Habsburg and their knights

( Wife of Sigismund of Luxembourg )

( Daughter of the couple Sigismund and Barbara )

( Husband of Elisabeth of Luxembourg )

( Cousin of Elisabeth )

The Jagiełło and Corvinus royal families

The Zapolya family

( Wife of Stephan Zápoya )

The Thurzo family and the daughters of Margita Séczy
  • Alexius Thurzo (1534–1543) and Magdalena Székely von Ormoszd (1543–1549)
  • Nicholas II of Salm-Neuburg (1543–1549)
  • Margita Séczy (1548) ( wife of Nicholas II and the daughter of Magdalena Székely )
  • Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1548–1560)
  • Pirrhus d´Arco (1560) ( husband of Margita Séczy )
  • Anna d´Arco (until 1570) ( daughter of the couple Séczy and d´Arco )
  • Georg Serine ( Zrínyi-Zrínsky ) ( husband of Anna d´Arco )
  • Ladislaus Popel von Lobkowitz the Elder J. (1573–1582) ( husband of Marie Magdalena von Salm, daughter of the couple Margita Seczy and Nikolaus II. Von Salm )
  • Ernfrid ( Ehrenfried ) von Ortenburg (1582) ( husband of Giulia d´Arco, daughter of the couple Seczy and d´Arco )
  • Imrich Forgách (1582–1594) ( husband of Katarina Zrínyi, sister of Georg Zrínyi )
The Illéshazy family
  • Stephan Illéshazy (1594–1609)
  • Gaspar Illesházy (1609–1648)
  • Gabriel Illesházy (1649–1667)
  • Georg Illesházy (1667–1689)
  • Nicolaus Illesházy (1689–1723)
  • Josef Illesházy (1723–1766)
  • Johan Babtist Illesházy (1766–1799)
  • Stefan II. Illesházy (1799–1835)
The last owners - Sina family
  • Georg Simon von Sina (from 1835)
  • Iphigenie d Hartcoure (until 1905) ( granddaughter of Georg Sina )

The castle is owned by the Illésházy family

On the walls of the Zapolya Palace hang eight portraits of the members of the Illésházy house, who owned the castle for 241 years (1594–1835). The first owner and founder of the Illésházy picture gallery was Stefan I. Illésházy . The Illésházy family was one of the most important families in the Waag region , and its members performed important functions at the royal court. In addition, they were chairmen of Trenčín and Liptov County .

Stephan I. Illésházy had an irascible character that almost cost him his head. In a conflict between him and Emperor Rudolf II , which involved the ownership of two towns owned by the Illésházys, Stephans insulted his majesty. As an old man he fled to Poland. Before that, he secretly visited Trenčín Castle to hide the valuables or to take them out of the castle to a safe place. The emperor found out about his secret visits by sending the city magistrate a letter. This should take the Illésházy and deliver it. Fearing the emperor, but also fear of a possible revenge by Illésházy, they invented a story according to which Illésházy got to the castle through a secret passage and could leave it unseen at any time. This is how the legends about the castle's secret passages were born. Stephan I was finally able to return home without losing his head.

Georg Illésházy moved from the uncomfortable castle to a manor house in 1678 . Almost all valuables such as furniture and paintings were taken away from the castle. In the 18th century the stone portals of the windows and doors were also removed. (The castle inventory from 1678 is now on display in a showcase in the Zapolya Palace.)

The last owner of the Illésházy castle was Stephan II. Illésházy. His ambitious father, Johan Baptist Illésházy, was the richest nobleman in the Waag region and wanted to convert the castle into a pompous baroque residence. However, the castle fell victim to a devastating fire on June 11, 1790.

sale

Stephan II sold the castle to the Viennese banker Georg Sina in 1835. Stephan II died in 1838 without male heirs. His wife only gave birth to daughters and they both ended up living separately. Stephen's wife came to a tragic end, a candle lit her bed linen and she burned in her bed.

The Sina family owned the castle between 1835 and 1905. The last owner of the castle was Iphigenie d´Hartcoure, who donated the castle ruins to Trenčín in 1905. This freed her from the obligation to take care of the castle ruins.

Components

Matthew Tower

The oldest residential and defense structure on the castle is the main tower ( keep ), which is traditionally called the Matthew Tower. The tower was built in the Romanesque style at the end of the 11th century , and around 1270 it was given a brick mantle and adapted to the Gothic style. According to a legend, Matthäus Csák (Tschak) from Trenčín had his study on the 4th floor. This study now serves as a small showroom dedicated to this controversial figure in history. On the individual floors there are exhibited cans from the 19th century and the coat of arms of the castle owners hang on the walls. A Romanesque tower from the 11th century (16 meters high) forms the core. Because of the threat from the Tatars ( Mongol storm ), the Romanesque tower was rebuilt between 1260 and 1270 on the orders of King Béla IV (Hungary) . The Tatars attacked the Hungarian Kingdom in 1241.

Today the Romanesque tower has a Gothic coat and a 700 year old stone staircase. The height of the tower is 39 meters. The wall thickness at the bottom is 4 meters and at the crown 2 meters. On the right side of the entrance is the exposed original plaster, a red squared pattern from the 14th century. After this plastering, the remaining tower walls were also reconstructed. From the stairwell, the individual rooms are always in a different direction. This almost created a labyrinth for an enemy in which he quickly lost his bearings. The passages are very narrow, which made it possible to defend the tower better. The largest living room in the tower is the master bedroom, the study of Matthäus Csák (Tschak) of Trenčín, who was the most important castle owner.

rotunda

Between the Barbara Palace, the Mathias Tower and the 5th Gate, the archaeological investigation between 1972 and 1975 discovered the foundations of a pre-Romanesque rotunda (9th – 10th centuries). This find not only established the date of the construction of Trenčín Castle, but also assigned it to the oldest buildings in Moravia.

The unique floor plan with four apses (a cloverleaf shape ) distinguishes the Trenčín rotunda from all central buildings known to date in Slovakia. Grave finds show that the rotunda was built at the end of the 11th century, but it could possibly be from Great Moravian architecture. An almost identical floor plan can be found in Moravia in Mikulčice.

Summer tower

In the courtyard, not far from the Mathias tower and close to the 5th gate, there is the so-called summer tower. This renaissance building supposedly served the lords of the castle as a resting place. The permanent exhibition, which has found its place here, is dedicated to the history of the Benedictine monastery on Skalka, the tradition of St. Sworad and St. Benedict, but also the archaeological finds. The archaeological finds prove the Slavic and pre-Slavic settlement of the place.

Ludwig Palace

There are three palaces on the castle's acropolis . The oldest is the Ludwigs Palace, which King Ludwig the Great of Anjou had built in the second half of the 14th century right next to the oldest residential building on the castle, the Mathias Tower.

A permanent exhibition of weapons from the period between the 13th and 19th centuries is located on the first floor of the Ludwig Palace. You can find Gothic swords, rapiers , sabers, spears and lances. Richly decorated oriental weapons such as jatagans, helmets and pieces of armor, decorated with engraved decorations and quotations from the Koran or splendid rifles and pistols from the Balkans can also be seen. Of the firearms, Prussian needle guns, Austrian rifles and revolvers can be seen. Hunting weapons form a small independent collection.

In the past, the rooms on the ground floor were used as the castle kitchen and chambers for the servants. In later centuries this large room was home to the castle archives, and behind the closed door was the treasury. The clerk lived above the treasury. Today the second part of the picture gallery is located here.

In May 2006 the Trenčín Museum opened another part of the gallery of the noble Illésházy family and pictures from the Illésházy residences on the ground floor of the Ludwig Palace, adding to this collection further pictures with biblical themes, motifs from Greek mythology and portraits of the Habsburg family as well as portraits of unknown noblemen.

Barbara Palace

The palace was built around 1430 by King of Hungary Sigismund of Luxembourg for his second wife Barbara von Cilli from Slovenia. It is the largest palace in the castle. The front wall of the Mathias Palace, which no longer exists today, was used for its construction; it stood in the present palace courtyard.

Knight hall

The knight's hall was not built until the 16th century when the palace was being built over. Initially, the living quarters were on two floors. Later the two wooden ceilings were taken apart, after which a large hall was created, which was given a vaulted ( lunette ceiling ). This ceiling collapsed after the great fire in 1790. The new ceiling was only created in the 20th century. The hall was used by the owners for representation purposes. This is where the County Council (the County Council) met until the end of the 16th century. Even today this room is used for special matters (political meetings, weddings, tables, banquets, company events).

Opposite the windows are two walled-up Gothic windows and two loopholes . The windows come from the Mathias Palace, which later disappeared completely under the plaster of the great hall. Today you can admire the castle's two oldest valuable frescoes in the window niches. They are approx. 700 years old and in the left one depicts a mythological being, half human and half lion, in the right one Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia .

The other rooms served as living spaces. One of them was a closet and the other was Queen Barbara's bedroom. The bedroom was connected to a basement by steps and a trap door . There were storage rooms for wine and food supplies in the basement, and you could probably find a black kitchen there at the time. The palace was used as a representative building. It currently serves occasional exhibitions and weddings.

Zápolya (Zapoľský) Palace

The palace consists of two floors (living quarters of the noble family) and on the ground floor of a horse stable and a storage room for carriages. It is the last palace built on the castle by the wealthy Zapolya family in the late 15th and early 16th centuries . The palace was started by the palatine Stephan Zápolya , and the completion was completed by his wife Hedwig von Teschen (Jadwiga Zapolya, Hedwig von Schlesien). The couple had a son Johann Zápolya (* 1487; † July 22, 1540), who was crowned King of Hungary.

Since 1994 you can see the castle's largest exhibition inside the palace. This gallery of the Illésházy family currently contains 94 paintings, which are presented on two floors of the palace. The paintings on display span the period between the end of the 16th century and the first half of the 19th century. The Illésházy were well-known patrons of art and education. The Slovak historian Mathias Bell called them "admirers of the Slovak language". The Illésházy were related to several important noble families of Hungary and Austria, including z. B. associated with Pálffy, Esterházy, Széchy, Abensberg and others. The last member of the family of Stefan II Illésházy died in 1838.

The Trenčín Museum acquired the picture gallery in 1942–1952. Since then, the restoration has been going on, which previously cost millions. Most of the collection, however, has already been restored and was presented to the public. The exposure is divided into several genres. On the first floor, the visitor sees portraits of the members of the Illésházy family and their friends and relatives. The oldest portrait, a picture of the Krupinau chief Johan Krušič from Lipoglav, is dated to 1580. The portrait of the “Slovak saint” Sophie Bosniak is also worth seeing .

Detail / Elisabeth Balassa

Southern fortification

Trenčín Castle was, above all, a powerful and impregnable fortress from the beginning. It was never conquered by a direct attack; its crew surrendered only twice on the condition that they could leave the castle with a gun. Over the centuries it has been besieged and stormed. During these events it suffered considerable damage and burned out several times. Nevertheless, it was modernized and expanded for defense until the 18th century.

The only recognizable weakness of the castle defense was the mountain saddle on the south side, where there is a connection between the castle rock and the Brezina ridge. The extensive and most important defense arrangements were therefore concentrated on this point. A complex unique in Central Europe is this southern fortification, which was built on the site of older ramparts and fortification walls and developed from the end of the 15th century to the 18th century. The complex consists of a system of three dry trenches. In the center line of the defensive there are two bastions that were used for the cannon position.

The protruding mill bastion is protected from behind by the Jeremias bastion.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Sternschanzen were probably built in advance of the southern fortification .

Cannon bastion

Palatine Alexius Thurzo had the cannon bastion built around 1540. Their cannons protected the bridges over the river Waag and the upper water town gate with the adjoining city ​​fortifications , which proves that the bastion was a purely functional defensive structure. A gunpowder mill was located in the adjoining annex, which was connected to a chapel. Today, the Trenčín Museum occasionally organizes shorter exhibitions from various fields of fine arts here.

Starvation tower

The south-eastern cylindrical bastion, also known as the “King's Tower”, was originally built as a lookout tower by Sigismund of Luxembourg in the 15th century. Originally it served as a castle prison and hunger tower . The 9 meter deep basement can be reached through the 45 × 45 centimeter opening. There is no document that anyone was starved to death here, rather the tower should scare the prisoners.

Current

The present castle area is part of the exhibition of the Trenčín Museum . In addition to the palace and the Matthäusturm you can visit the cannon bastion , the hunger tower and the castle lapidarium . Various exhibitions, concerts, medieval games and attractive night tours of the city are held in the castle area.

Well legend

A romantic legend of Omar and Fatima is associated with the 80 m deep castle well , called the Well of Love. Stephan Zápolya brought his wife a prisoner named Fatima with him from a victorious war against the Turks . When Omar found out where his fiancée was, he came to buy her off with a great deal of fortune. However, neither requests nor gifts helped. The lord of the castle was implacable: “What I have given, I will not take back, and I have enough wealth.” The kneeling Omar asked in desperation: “And what do you not have?” “I have everything,” was the answer. But then it occurred to him: “I have no water.” Omar seized the last hope: “And if I force this rock to give you water, will you leave Fatima to me?” The Lord nodded. After three years, Omar finally got water. He scooped some of it into a golden cup and handed it to Zápolya with the words: "Here is the water, but your heart was harder than this rock." Fatima was released. When Omar took his freed Fatima out of the castle on horseback, her veil got stuck on a dog rose bush. The oldest inn in Trenčín still stands here today, it bears the name “Fatima” and was also called “Veil” in earlier times.

literature

  • Tamara Nešporová, Andrej Fiala, Milan Šišmiš, Ferdinand Brunovský: Trenčiansky hrad, 1991
  • Katarína Babičová, Vlastimil Hábl, Danuta Učníková: Ilešháziovci, Rodová zbierka obrazov , 1998
  • Milan Šišmiš: Vlastivedná monografia Trenčín, 1991
  • Pod vládou anjouovských kráľov , pramene k dejinám Slovenska a Slovákov IV. 2002
  • Dobroslava Menclová: Hrad Trenčín , 1956

Web links

Commons : Trenčín Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 53 ′ 39 ″  N , 18 ° 2 ′ 41 ″  E