The Trenčín Castle ( sk, Trenčiansky hrad, hu, trencséni vár) is a castle above the town of
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...
in western
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 ...
.
History
History of the castle goes back to the age of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, testified by the inscription telling about the victory of the II. Roman legion at ''Laugaricio'' (the Latin name of Trenčín) in 179 AD.
The oldest building is a stone
rotunda, plausibly founded in the
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...
n period. In the midst of the 13th century the castle was the seat of the Baron
Jakab Cseszneky, who was King
Béla IV
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
's
swordbearer. Later in the 13-14th century, the castle became the residence of
Matthew III Csák
Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; hu, Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III), also Máté Csák of Trencsén ( hu, trencséni Csák (III.) Máté, sk, Matúš Čák III Trenčiansky), was a Hungar ...
, the legendary "Lord of the river
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
and the
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...
". He gave name to the Máté Tower, a
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
dominating both the castle silhouette as well as that of the town. Within the precincts of the lower castle can be found the water well, also known as the "well of love." Which according to legend was dug by a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
prince called Omar, who had great love for the beautiful Fatima, whom he had to redeem by digging a well in the rock. In fact the well was dug by a garrison in the 16th century, it took them 40 years and is approximately 80 m deep.
Present
The castle houses exhibitions of the Trenčín Museum, documenting the history of the region and of the castle – exhibitions of historic furniture, weapons, pictures and other artifacts as well as a castle gallery, archaeological collections and findings. The castle is protected as a National Cultural Monument of Slovakia. In 2006, it attracted about 100,000 visitors.
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
*
Castles in Slovakia
Buildings and structures in Trenčín
Museums in Trenčín Region
History museums in Slovakia
Tourist attractions in Trenčín Region
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