Dračí hrádok (literally ''Dragon fort'' or ''Dragon castle'' in English) are the ruins of a castle located in the southernmost part of the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...

, less than 2 km southeast of

Borinka Borinka ( hu, Pozsonyborostyánkő) is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Malacky District in the Bratislava Region, at the foothills of the Little Carpathians, best known for the Pajštún Castle, and has many weekend homes ( sk, ch ...

in the

Bratislava region The Bratislava Region ( sk, Bratislavský kraj, , german: Pressburger/Bratislavaer Landschaftsverband (until 1919), hu, Pozsonyi kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first esta ...

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 s ...

. The castle was built in the 13th century on a hill above the valley of the Stupava stream at an altitude of about 370 m above sea level. Along with other castle ruins in the region, such as

Biely Kameň Biely Kameň (literally ''White Stone'' in English) are the ruins of a Gothic castle located on a wooded hill above the town of Svätý Jur in the Pezinok district in the Bratislava region, Slovakia. The name Biely Kameň became commonplace in the ...

and Pajštún Castle, Dračí hrádok is a hiking destination near the country's capital,

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

History

In the absence of explicit written mentions, the history of the castle is subject to some dispute. The first archeological excavation conducted on the site by Professor Vojtěch Ondrouch in 1940–41 raised the possibility that the Dračí hrádok was built on top of an older

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

burgus Later research concluded this was not the case. Despite evidence of occasional human activity dating back as far as 4000 BC, Dračí hrádok was built in the second half of the 13th century. It was destroyed not long after its creation following an attack as part of which most of the wooden structures burned down. The fire also undermined the integrity of the stone walls and tower which were subsequently left to decay. It is possible the castle was destroyed before 1273, because it is not mentioned in records describing the conquest of western

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

or later conquests by Albrecht of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. Other sources date the destruction of the castle to 1430–1460. However, the vast majority of objects found by archeological digs on the site date to the second half of the 13th century. Latest archeological research therefore also rejects the theory that Dračí hrádok could be depicted in a 16th-century engraving of the coronation of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor in

Description

The core of the castle is about 20 m wide and over 100 m long. It is not clear how the whole area was used. Only a part of the tower at the front of the fortification has been preserved to this day. The tower was built on a square foundation approximately 10 × 10 m in size. The tower remains are about 2 m tall.Jaroslav Nešpor, Veža Dračieho hrádku je jediným zachovaným objektom, časopis Krásy Slovenska 11,12/2005 The tower was built behind a 17 m wide and 6 m deep moat dug into the rock.

Gallery

Slovakia-Draci hradok-01.jpg, The best preserved part - the former main tower Slovakia-Draci hradok-02.jpg, Former main tower - view from the other side Dračí_hrádok_drawing.jpg, Dračí hrádok on a colored drawing by Teodor Weisz from 1871

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draci hradok Ruined castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Bratislava Region

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References