Hajnáčka Castle is a ruined
Gothic 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 the village of
Hajnáčka
Hajnáčka (formerly: ; ; ) is a village and municipality in the Rimavská Sobota District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1245 as ''Danuskue'' (1255 ''Kues'', ...
in southern
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 high
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
rock above the village, which is formed by the remains of a volcano. The castle is surrounded by the
Hajnáčka Castle hill nature reserve.
History
The castle was first mentioned 1245. It was built by
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...
on the same spot as an earlier fortress. Later it became the manorial seat with 15 settlements. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the castle was one of the significant fortresses against the Turkish invasion of Central-Europe. It was modernised in the 17th century but got neglected in the 18th century. The castle was first part of the estate of the lordship but later was passed on through many aristocratic families.
See also
*
Pál Márkházy
References
Castles in Slovakia
Buildings and structures in Banská Bystrica Region
{{Slovakia-castle-stub