Šariš Castle ( Slovak: ''Šarišský hrad'', Hungarian: ''Sáros vára'') is a ruined Gothic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

era stone castle above the town of Veľký Šariš in

Prešov District Prešov District (''okres Prešov'') is a district in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, ...

Prešov Region The Prešov Region (, ; ), also Priashiv Region (, ), is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 of which have town status. The region was established in 1996 and is the mos ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is a hilltop castle located on a cone-shaped hill with a wide plateau at its top, in an altitude of approximately 570 m (1870.07 ft) above sea level. The ruins lie 6-7 km northwest of

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

, in the traditional region

Šariš Šariš is the traditional name of a region situated in northeastern Slovakia. It encompasses the territory of the former (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) Sáros county. History Šariš county was created in the 13th century from th ...

. The castle is listed in the National Cultural Heritage list of the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic.

History

The castle is one of the oldest and biggest castles in Slovakia. It was permanently settled from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

to the 4th century AD, then from the 10th to the 12th century, and finally a new castle was built in the 13th century. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1678. The former county and traditional region of Šariš both draw their name from the name of the castle, due to it having served as the original county seat for several centuries (as was common with many Hungarian castles serving this political function).

Gallery

File:Šarišsky_hrad3.png, Šariš Castle Hill as seen from the northwest (ca 2004) File:Šarišsky_hrad2.png, The keep before the start of restoration works (ca 2004) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia15.JPG, One of the preserved gatehouses (September 2013) File:Saris Castle 2.jpg, Perimeter walls and bastion under restoration (September 2012) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia6.JPG, Perimeter walls and bastions from the outside (September 2013) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia21.JPG, Ruins of a bastion (September 2013) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia27.JPG, Main courtyard and ruins of the central castle, the

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

visible on the hillock to the right File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia34.JPG, Interiors of a bastion ground floor after restoration (September 2013) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia35.JPG, Tower (foreground, right) and major artillery bastion (background, left) File:BuildingCastleWMPSaris13Slovakia53.JPG, Ruins of the central castle, the keep visible on the hillock to the left

References

External links

Official website of the civic association Rákociho cesta
(in Slovak) - Civic historical association currently in charge of restoration works on the castle. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saris Castle Castles in Slovakia Ruined castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Prešov Region Tourist attractions in Prešov Region 13th-century architecture in Slovakia Gothic architecture in Slovakia Renaissance architecture in Slovakia ----

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links