The Budatín Castle () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in north-western

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 ...

, near the city of

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, 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 List of cities ...

, where the Kysuca river flows into the

Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...

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; , ), also Máté Csák of Trencsén (, ), was a Hungarian oligarch who ruled ''de facto'' independently the north-western counties of Medieval Hungary (today roughly th ...

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 ( , ) 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 ...

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 castle was changed into a comfortable Renaissance palace. During the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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