Castle in Ľubovňa

Lubovel Castle ( Slovak Hrad Ľubovňa or Ľubovniansky hrad ) - a castle in eastern Slovakia , now in the city of Ľubovňa in the Prešov Region , in the historical region of Spiš , built at the end of the 13th century (first mention from 1311 ).

Currently, it is partially a permanent ruin, partially rebuilt. A copy of the pledge of the Conspiracy is available at the castle . The preserved premises houses a museum. There is a permanent exhibition of copies of Polish crown jewels in the castle chapel. Below the castle is the Museum of Folk Architecture of the Spiš region ( open-air museum ).

The history of the castle

The construction of the castle on the rocky hill was commissioned by the King of Hungary, Andrzej III . At that time, a three-story palace was built (ground floor - warehouses, 1st floor - representative room, 2nd floor - living quarters) and a bergfried with eight floors on the west side. A kitchen was built a little later on the eastern side.

Between 1323 and 1342 the castle became the property of the Drugeth family.

On November 8, 1412, Zygmunt Luksemburski pledged part of the land of Spiš, including the Lubowelski Castle, for a loan from the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in the amount of PLN 37 thousand. heaps of Prague pennies. The pledge was signed at the castle. The castle became the seat of the administrators of the pledged territory.

In 1476, the Spiš starosty includes, with a break for the years 1506-1522, the Polish noble family of Kmita . Until the end of the Middle Ages, a well was dug in the south-eastern part of the castle hill.

Until 1528, in connection with the growing Turkish threat, the defensive walls of the castle were expanded, and the inhabitants of Stara Lubovna built a round tower in its eastern part, called a saucepan, with three characteristic cannon shooting ranges.

In 1591, Sebastian Lubomirski made an extensive reconstruction of the fortress, expanding the bastions and strengthening the defensive walls. Seventy years later, the castle buildings receive baroque decorations. In 1655, Polish coronation insignia were sent to the castle - they were deposited there for fear of the Swedish army flooding the Commonwealth. Returning from Vienna, the victorious Polish king Jan III Sobieski stops at the castle. In 1768, the most famous prisoner of that time - Maurycy Beniowski, was imprisoned in the castle. In 1772, as a result of the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria lifts the pledge of conspiracy from 1412, Poland will never regain 37 heaps of Prague pennies lent under this pledge to Austrians. In the following centuries, the Rasch family became the owners of the castle, and at the end of the 19th century it was bought by Andrzej Zamoyski. The castle was in the hands of the Zamoyski family until World War II, although successive heirs moved their seat to Wyżne Rużbachów (approx. 10 km), where they established a spa resort.

From the parking lot at the gate of the open-air museum, you need to walk to the castle along an asphalt road for about 5 minutes, and then climb a steep path for another 5-10 minutes to the main gate of the castle, behind which there is a ticket office.

In the summer season, on weekends, performances of the amateur theater from Stara Lubovna on topics related to the history of the castle are often organized in the castle. Then you can also meet falconers, archers and reconstructors of history.