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Slovak Castles

© Katarina Cadrova

The Slovak Republic is the country with rich history. This country is very old and during the time of development there were a lot of changes done. One of the biggest memories of the lifestyle in past centuries is a huge number of castles all over the country. They are couple of hundred years old and there are great exhibitions and documents of the life from that time. The castles are very old and nowadays they are decorated and reconstructed. Slovak people try to keep the memories to show the visitors from abroad and also for further generation.

During summer time more and more tourists visit Slovak castles. They see the culture of the time when the castle was built they see the family tree of people who lived there and also the whole area, its lifestyle and craft. Visitors can enjoy exhibitions, old-fashioned plays, music and dance. These days there is an exhibition The Days of Ghosts and Spirits in Bojnice Castle near Banska Bystrica, in the center of Slovakia, which is popular mining area.This castle is in one of the most popular and visited. More details about this castle and the town Bojnice you can find: http://www.bojnice.sk .

In this area there is another castle not far from Banska Stiavnica Kastiel Antol - The Antol Manor House. In the 19th century it was the country retreat of the Bulgarian emperor, Ferdinand Coburg. The present aspect of the late Baroque building is from the years 1744 - 1750 and its attributes symbolize the division of the year: the four parts of the castles represent the four seasons of the year, twelve chimneys - twelve months, the fifty-two rooms - the weeks of the year, the seven arcades - seven days in the week and 365 windows - the days of the year. This National Cultural Monument has also have a hunting museum, which is a great attraction for visitors, especially during the summer visitors can see a lot of hunting exhibitions. Another castle with hunting exhibits is in the village Besenova, near the town Ruzomberok, in the north of Slovakia in the Low Tatras. It is a renovated Renaissance castle from the first half of the 17th century. This village is also very popular for its thermal pools. Many tourists come to visit Besenova every year.

Every town, smaller or bigger, in Slovakia has at least one castle, whether is popular or not. Some castles are on the outskirts of the towns or cities or even further on the side of the main roads, and some of them are on the top of the hills. For instance the Castle Strecno from the 14th century. It is situated on the top of a massive rocky prominence near the road between the towns Zilina and Martin, the north of Slovakia near the river Vah. Its massive fortifications of stout walls, towers and bastions made the most unassailable castle in the area of Central Povazie.

The copyright of the article Slovak Castles in Slovak Republic is owned by Stuart Buchanan MacWatt. Permission to republish Slovak Castles in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.