The Budatín Castle ( sk, Budatínsky zámok) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in north-western

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 ...

, near the city of

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...

, where the

Kysuca The Kysuca ( hu, Kiszuca) is a river in northern Slovakia. It is a right tributary to the Váh. The river gives name to the informal Kysuce region. It is long and its basin size is . Its source is near the village of Makov Makov ( hu, Tr ...

river flows into the

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

river.

History

It was built as a guarding castle in the second half of the 13th century near the confluence of the Kysuca and the Váh, where tolls were collected. At the beginning of the 14th century, the originally royal fortress passed into the hands of

Matthew III Csák Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; hu, Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III), also Máté Csák of Trencsén ( hu, trencséni Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III Trenčiansky), was a Hungar ...

and the castle, especially the towers, were fortified, and inside the fortress a new palace was built. Beginning in 1487, the new owner of the castle was Gašpar Suňog (Hungarian:Gáspár Szunyogh), whose family owned it until the end of the 18th century. In the mid-16th century, the castle was rebuilt in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

style. The Turkish threat from the south, and more uprisings at the beginning of the 17th century forced the Suňogs to fortify the castle in the Renaissance style. At that time, the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

castle was changed into a comfortable Renaissance palace. During the Baroque period in the 17th century, efforts were concentrated on building a chapel and finishing various outbuildings of the castle and surrounding it by the park. After the Suňog family became extinct, the new owners were the Csákys, who owned the castle until 1945. During the revolutions of 1848/1849, imperial troops seriously damaged the castle, which was repaired in 1870, and was serving as a barracks. The park's size was reduced by the construction of Košice-Bohumín Railway in 1872. The last major reconstruction was done in the 1922–1923, based on the historical and romantic motives. Today, the castle houses three exhibitions of the Považie museum.

Sources

Budatínsky zámok

External links

Považie museum - Budatín castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budatin Castle Castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Žilina Tourist attractions in Žilina Region History museums in Slovakia