Blatnica Castle

Blatnicky Castle rises on a steep hill behind the village of the same name. It was built in the second half of the thirteenth century as a protection point of an important trade route known as the magna via, which led from Nitra to the north of the country. The first written mention of the castle dates back to the year one thousand three hundred, when Peter of Brezovice was its owner. Later it became a royal property, but as the importance of the old road declined due to the creation of a more convenient western route, the rulers lost interest in the castle. During the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the castle changed many owners, who merely used the castle rather than maintained it. It was not until the reign of the Révai family from the year one thousand five hundred and forty that the castle saw significant development. They expanded the complex with a large forecourt with new buildings. At the end of the seventeenth century the castle was occupied by the rebels of Imrich Tököli and at the beginning of the eighteenth century by the troops of František Rákoczi. The castle was last repaired in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-four. Less than fifty years later it was no longer inhabited and began to decay. Today you can admire the remains of the palace with its semicircular towers, the western tower being considerably more massive than the eastern one. An interesting feature is the moat cut directly into the rock over which the entrance to the castle once led.