Zamagurie - Spiš Castle

The Spiš Castle is one of the most valuable and most important monuments in Slovakia. In addition, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the castle hill is part of the national nature reserve - Spišský hradný vrch. What is more, this huge fortress, spreading over 4 hectares of the Spiš Podgrodzie, is considered to be one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe.

The history of the Spiš Castle dates back to the 12th century, when it served as a border fortress on the northern border of the early-feudal Hungarian state. It showed its power as early as 1241, when its stone walls stopped the attack of the Tatar troops. After the Tatars left, its owners began to expand the castle. A Romanesque palace, two fortifications and a round early Gothic tower were built in the center of the courtyard of the upper castle. Further expansion was interrupted by internal riots in 1301. Only at the end of the 14th century, the castle was surrounded by a new large fortification. The fortress also changed its face in the mid-15th century. At that time, the castle walls of the second fortification were raised, a stone fort with a moat was built, and the construction of the largest western fort began. In the years 1430-1437, the castle was also rebuilt, it was covered with a flat, probably coffered ceiling and a vault in the form of stone ribs. The work on the chapel was probably carried out in the second half of the 15th century. Over the next centuries, the owners of the castle changed many times. Each of them continued its expansion and reconstruction, thanks to which in the final stage it had five courtyards with several dozen buildings, and thus became the largest castle in Slovakia.

In 1780, a fire broke out in the castle and consumed all wooden structures and turned the castle into ruin forever. Although the actions to save the ruins began at the end of the 19th century, proper conservation did not start until 1969. Thanks to this, the Spiš Castle was secured and made available to visitors.