Zvolen Castle ( or incorrectly , Hungarian: ''Zólyomi vár'') is a medieval

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 ...

located on a hill near the center of

Zvolen Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the ...

, in central

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 original seat of the region was above the confluence of Slatina and

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

rivers on a steep cliff in a castle from the 12th century, known today as

Pustý hrad Pustý hrad () is a castle whose ruins are located on a forested hill in the southern part of Zvolen in central Slovakia. With an area of 76,000 m² it is arguably one of the largest Castle#Medieval European castles, medieval castles in Europe. Th ...

(meaning "Deserted castle"). Its difficult access had consequence in relocation of the seat to the new-built Zvolen castle, which was ordered by

Louis I the Great Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife ...

as a hunting residence. The future queen regnant Mary of Anjou and emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

celebrated their wedding there in 1385.

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

of the castle built between 1360 and 1382 was inspired by Italian castles of the fourteenth century. Italian masons also contributed to a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

reconstruction in 1548. The last major reconstruction occurred in 1784, when the chapel was rebuilt into the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. Zvolen Castle hosts a regional branch of the

Slovak National Gallery The Slovak National Gallery (, abbreviated SNG) is a network of galleries in Slovakia. It has its headquarters in Bratislava. The gallery was established by law on 29 July 1949. In Bratislava, it has its displays situated in Esterházy Palace (' ...

with an exposition of old European masters, including works by P. P. Rubens,

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...

, and

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

. There is also a popular

tea room A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only serve ...

located in the castle.

History

Zvolen castle was built by Louis I of Hungary, who built it like a gothic hunting castle. It was finished in 1382, when it was witness to an engagement of his daughter Mary and Sigismund.

John Jiskra of Brandýs John Jiskra of Brandýs (in English sometimes referred as John Giskra; , , ; – ), was a Czech strategist and mercenary soldier. John Jiskra came from the Moravian branch of the noble family Lords of Brandýs, he was possibly a son of Alšík ...

, who became one of the most powerful commanders in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and this castle was one of his manors from 1440 to 1462. The castle was also often visited by king

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

with his wife Beatrice, who used this castle as a manor from 1490. About 1500 the external fortifications were built up with four round bastions and entrance gate. In the middle of the 16th century was built another floor with embrasures and corner oriel towers. About 1590 an artillery bastion was built also. The castle was rebuilt many times, but it retains its Renaissance look. The castle was nominated as a National culture monument for its historic, art and architecture values and it was reconstructed in the 1960s. The

has a seat in this castle now, where it presents its expositions.

Present

Every year The Zvolen Castle Plays are introduced to huge numbers of visitors. Here you can see actors and theatres from Slovakia, but also from other countries. The castle also offers a rental of its King hall, Column hall and Knightly hall, which is useful for organizing concerts, receptions, wedding ceremonies, etc. Now you can also se
a computer model
of this castle, which was made as an academic project.

External links

Pustý hrad and the Zvolen castle on the municipal site
{{Authority control Castles in Slovakia Buildings and structures in Zvolen Tourist attractions in Banská Bystrica Region Art museums and galleries in Slovakia