Nový zámok (literally "New 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 ...

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; ; , ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of ...

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 ...

. The castle is located on a hill south of the city center at an altitude of 630m above sealevel, marking the highest point of the city center.

History

After the defeat of the Hungarian troops by the

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

in the

battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

in 1526, defences in more northern places in Hungary needed to be reinforced with new defensive structures. Shortly after the northern mining region started defence preparations as the region was a great resource of precious metals at that time. In 1541 the town council decided on the fortification of Selmeczbánya. New Castle – a national cultural monument – is a six-floor

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 ...

building with four bastions. It was constructed in 1564–1571 as a watch tower during the Ottoman wars. Because of its dominant position, it was also used as the town's live clock (exact time was announced every quarter of an hour on a trumpet).

Today

A permanent exhibition called Anti-Turkish Wars in Slovakia is installed on four floors of the castle. The highest floor offers a panoramic view of Banská Štiavnica and its environs.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070731234157/http://www.muzeum.sk/default.php?obj=hrad&ix=sbm_nz Castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Banská Štiavnica {{Slovakia-castle-stub