History
On a dolomite rock 200 m above the surrounding land, at the elevation of 634 m, there is one of the most precious cultural monuments in the Spiš region that reigns over the Spiš basin - the Spiš Castle. It is not just an evidence of architectural development from the 12-th to the 18-th century. With its area of 41 426 m2 it is at the same time one of the largest castles in the Central Europe.
Its history is very rich, too. The rock the castle stands on was inhabited already 40 000 years ago. A huge hill-fort of Púchovská culture was built in this area during the Christ era. Archaeologists only recently uncovered houses of ancient farmers and craftsmen and a big cult object. From the greatness and the organisation structure of the hill-fort we might infer that already at that time it had been an administrative centre of the Spiš region. Bulwarks surrounding the whole castle and crossing its biggest courtyard are visible even today. After the fort was demolished, another strong hill-fort was founded on a neighbouring hill Dreveník. Only then the Spiš Castle was built up.
Ten years of archaeological research made the history of the castle more precise. The most important result was maybe finding a circle tower from the 11-12-th century (destroyed in the first half of the 13-th century). Current circle tower, roman palace and other parts of the upper part of the castle were built at the beginning of the 13-th century. Belo IV. realised that castles were very effective in the defence against the Tatars. Therefore he allowed the local administrator to build a tower and a palace at the Spiš Castle in 1249. This was the history of the palace that was built as the first additional building next to the castle. Many battles took place at the castle at that time, esp. in the second half of the 13-th century. The castle became the centre of the county. It was a seat of many important nobles. For instance, in 1275 it was a seat of a noble Roland who revolted against the king. Later the queen Elisabeth Kumánska, mother of Ladislav IV., owned the castle. The struggle for the castle ownership was the reason of many fights in the 14-th century. Matúš Čák Trenčiansky, the most powerful noble at that time, aimed to conquer the castle in 1312 - without success. As a result, the castle was enlarged and rebuilt in the Gothic style shortly after.
Ján Jiskra from Brandýs gained the Spiš castle in 1443 while fighting for the rights of Ladislav Pohrobok. Firstly he got a small fortress build at the slope bellow the castle. Later he decided to build a large courtyard. Thus the castle gained its current appearance. An important breaking point in the history of the castle was the year 1464, when the king donated the castle to the nobles Imrich and Stephan Zápoľský. It is interesting that although the Zápoľský family owned more than 70 castles, the Spiš castle was their seat. They modernised and built a chapel, heightened and thickened the tower and rebuilt the roman palace in the Gothic style. They employed the same stone-cutters who made a mortuary chapel in Spišská Kapitula for them. Ján Zápoľský, the last king before Habsburgs, was also born at the castle. He was the last king of Zápoľský gender who owned the castle, because after he was defeated in the fight against the Habsburgs, the castle became the Habsburgs ownership in 1528. Three years after (in 1531) they donated the castle to Alexius Turzo. The Turzo family rebuilt it in the Renaissance style. After their male successors died out in 1636, the Csáky family owned the castle till 1945. They lived in the castle only till the end of the 17-th century, because they rather built several manor-houses in Hodkovce, Bijacovce, Kluknava etc. For the manor-houses they many times used the stone material from the castle. Just a small military unit stayed at the castle. They left in 1780 after it burned down. From that time forward the castle became a ruin. It has been repairing and reconstructing only for a few past years after long detailed research. The lower courtyard was open to public in 1983.
Spis Castle Today
Several movies like Dragonheart or The Last Legion were filmed here.
In the archeological part of the exhibit you can see findings from the Stone Age until the Middle Ages. Roman coins were also find inside narrow dark cave under the castle. Castle's kitchen is nicely restored, you can almost see the cooks preparing food for castle's lords. Over-the-top feasts were sometimes held for almost 4 hours. Castle's bedroom, washroom, armory, chapel and torture room are also interesting parts of the exposition. Be sure to climb up the tower! You will be treated to an excellent view perfect for photographing.
Around the Castle
There are other beautiful locations worth a visit in this area. Spisska Kapitula, often called 'Vatican of Slovakia', is a part of Spisske Podhradie, province under the castle. Gothic architecture, Baroque decorations on houses, Romanesque churches, cathedral and on top of that, beautiful view on High Tatras. The Church of the Holy Spirit in Zehra, one of the earliest Slovak settlements, showcases high quality wall paintings from the Middle-Ages. The complex is on UNESCO's World Heritage List among 1.000 of the most important monuments in the world.
