Nový zámok (literally "New Castle") 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 ...

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; german: Schemnitz; hu, Selmecbánya (Selmec), ) 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 Mountain ...

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 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 in the

battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and those ...

in 1526, defences in more northern places in Hungary needed to be reinforced with new defensive structures. Shortly after the Slovak 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 Banská Štiavnica. New Castle – a national cultural monument – is a six-floor

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 ideas ...

building with four bastions. It was constructed in 1564–1571 as a watch tower during the

Ottoman wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

. 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