Posted on Posted onBy Miško

Located Located near the village bearing the same name, the castle Red Stone (in Slovak Červený Kameň) is one of the many castles located in Slovakia. 

We traveled to the wonderful castle from the capital Bratislava taking the bus by Slovak Lines. The overall journey was present and did not take long. If you enjoy also hiking and want to embed it on the overall trip, then I recommend taking the bus to the town called Modra, and from there is a nice hiking route 11 km (almost 7 miles) long which will take you about 3,5 hours.

Skipping the hiking you will be there in no time.

Accessibility

  • The bus will practically let you out in front of the gates.  
  • No worries, there is also a small parking space if you go by car (for free). 

Practical Information

It is opened almost all year except 24th, 25th, 26th December, 1st January, and Mondays from 1 October to 30 April.

From the 1st of May to the 30th of September there are always special activities happening for visitors. 

There are various tours or different lengths available, so it is up to you what you prefer most. All tours are also available in English. 

TIP:  get there early for the first day of the tour and if lucky like we were it will be you and the tour guide. The castle seems to have a different atmosphere in the morning as well. 

ADMISSION

  • Adults: 7 EUR (8 EUR if you go for the foreign tour) 
  • Children: up to 4 EUR (depending on the age)
  • Penguins: free entry

For more detailed information visit their website. 

A little bit of history

  • The first mention of Red Stone Castle was in the first half of the 13th century.
  • The castle was built at the request of Queen Konstancia Uhorska, the widow of the Czech king.
  • The castle was originally held by the Crown and later passed into the ownership of Matus Cak Trenciansky.
  • Later the castle was obtained by The Fugger family which decided to utilize the strategic position of Red Stone, situated close to Bratislava and Vienna, and transform the old gothic castle into a safe storehouse for goods traded across the whole of Europe. Later they sold the castle. 
  • Many wanted to buy it but Baron Mikulas II Palfi finally became the owner of the whole estate. 
  • The last owner of Palfi family left in 1945. Thereafter, the castle was proclaimed a national cultural property.

Legend says…

As with all of the castles also this one had a legend to it. That is, the initial plan was to build the castle on the neighboring hill called Kukla, but as they started the constructions every day in the morning when they returned all of it was gone and they had to start from scratch. People started talking that is it due to the ghosts living on the Kukla hill. After a few unsuccessful tried they decided to move the construction to the hill where the castle is standing now. 

Impressions

If I have to keep it short – I LOVED IT!

The overall castle is still very nicely preserved and one can really imagine what life at that time was like. There is a beautiful alley of trees waddling from the bus stop to the castle. 

The castle has a beautiful inner yard where one can get a cup of coffee while waiting for the tour start. We did the same as we came even before the first tour.  It was a blessing as it was still early morning. 

But let us get into the actual castle. As the tour starts one gets rights into the first beautiful room which is breathtaking. It looked like a cave.  And from here on I knew it would be great. 

Each room we entered had something special about it. The furniture beautiful as well as the paintings. I could totally see myself living here. 

One room was dedicated to various weapons from different times, it was very much interesting to see it and made me wonder if my flippers would hold any of it. 

And when I thought it cannot get better we went underground and entered a beautiful stone hall. Very high, very cool (great for sunny summer days to get cooled down). They mentioned the hall can even be rented for a family gathering or company gatherings. 

And of course, that was not the only great surprise that the castle holds. As we later finished the tour the castle has more to offer. Outside of it, there is a floral garden one can walk around and just calm your mind. 

Near the parking space before you leave you have an opportunity to visit the bird school – Astur, and enjoy a nice flying show. they offer a lot of falconry demonstrations that are very much enjoyable. 

And of course after all the waddling and shows you can enjoy a nice meal at the restaurant right there called Taverna pod Baštou. 

The castle really offers it all hiking, coffee, food, show, gardens… Very satisfied with the visit and it is a jewel within the castles in Slovakia.

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