Plavecký Castle (, ) is a ruined

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle in the municipality of Plavecké Podhradie in the

Bratislava region The Bratislava Region (, ; (until 1919); ) is one of the Regions of Slovakia, administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders exist from 1996. It is the smallest of ...

of south-west

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 ...

. It is located on the western foothills of the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...

History

Most likely the building of the castle was an initiative of king

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 ...

. It was built shortly after the middle of the 13th century as a castle on the frontier of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. The castle was first mentioned in relation to the Hungarian-Czech wars in documents of

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV (, , ; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hung ...

. In 1273, one of the battles against the Czech king

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, 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 death in 1278 ...

took place right below the Plavecký castle. The oligarch,

Matthew III Csák Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; , ), also Máté Csák of Trencsén (, ), was a Hungarian oligarch who ruled ''de facto'' independently the north-western counties of Medieval Hungary (today roughly th ...

seized the castle at the end of the 13th century. A century later, in 1394,

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elec ...

donated the castle to his loyal duke

Stibor of Stiboricz Stibor of Stiboricz of Ostoja coat of arms, Ostoja (also written in English as Scibor or Czibor; , , , ; c. 1348 – February 1414) was an aristocrat of Polish people, Polish origin in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was a close friend of King Sig ...

. When the male line of the Stiboricz family died out, the Plavec estate came into the hands of other landlords. In 1438, these were the count Szentgyörgyi family. They died out in 1543 as well and the Plavecký castle passed on to their relatives, the

Salm family The House of Salm was an ancient Lotharingian noble family originating from Salmchâteau in the Ardennes (present-day Belgium) and ruling Salm (state), Salm. The dynasty is above all known for the experiences of the Salm (state)#Upper Salm, Upper ...

. As the Salms had to pay back the pawn money for the castle, an amount they could not afford, they exchanged the castle for a loan with the

Fugger family The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patrician (post-Roman Europe), patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile ban ...

from

Červený Kameň Červený Kameň () is a village and municipality in Ilava District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. Etymology Both Slovak and Hungarian names mean "red stone". The first written mention about the village is "''possesio seu will ...

(). In 1560,

Anton Fugger Anton Fugger (10 June 1493 – 14 September 1560) was a German merchant, banker, and member of the Fugger family. He was a nephew of Jakob Fugger. Biography Anton was the third and youngest son of George Fugger and Regina Imhof. He was born in ...

, the head of the Fugger family, suddenly died. Subsequently, the family considered moving out their activities of the kingdom of Hungary due to the political situation and the increasing threat of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Melichar Balassa settled the debt of the Fuggers to the Salms and gained control over the Plavec castle estate. His son inherited the property in 1570 for his brave actions 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 ...

. The Melichar branch of the Balassa family died out in 1621 when the last male member, Peter Balassa, passed away. His widow, Magdaléna Pálffy and her brother Pál Pálffy immediately took over the vacant Plavec castle estate in pledge and obtained it in 1634 as a royal donation. Pál Pálffy then had a renaissance manor built in Plavecké Podhradie (), the village under the castle. The manor acquired the residential function while the castle fulfilled the strategic functions during the rebellion of estates. During the Thököly anti-Habsburg rebellion in 1683, the Plavecký castle was the scene of some fighting. Also at the beginning of the 18th century the castle was involved in some fights. In 1706 the imperial troops conquered the castle from the rebels led by

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...

. After these fights, the Pálffy family was forced to abandon the damaged castle.

References

{{reflist Ruined castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Bratislava Region

History

See also

References