Most haunted castle in Slovakia ⋆ Lifeguin

There is no surprise castles are haunted, however, as there are many castles in Slovakia, some are more haunted than others. Orava castle is one of the most haunted ones, and also one of the most beautiful ones.

The castle is built on a rock above the river Orava in Oravský Podzámok and is one of the largest castles in Slovakia. It is located in the northern Orava region. The castle area consists of a remarkable complex of the Lower, Middle, and Upper Castle with palaces, fortification systems, and towers. Apart from being a landmark, it gets the attention also for being the most haunted castle in Slovakia.

Accessibility

The castle is easily accessible, one only needs to waddle up the steep hill after parking.

There are three parking spaces available around the castle, but we parked near the river, which we also recommend. It is paid for and it will cost you 5 EUR, no matter how long you stay.

On the way back you can buy souvenirs in one of the many stands located in the parking lot. Each has the usual – postcards, magnets, plush animals, and much more.

From the parking lot, you take a little stroll through a park and go get your tickets which can be purchased only in the ticket office in the Orava Castle Information Centre located right under the castle hill.

Practical Information

Apart from October, the castle is opened all year long. Opening hours are usually Monday – Friday 9.00-15.00 Saturday – Sunday 9.00-16.00 for more detail visit their website (link) as the hours differ depending on the month.

ADMISSION (depends on which tour you decide for, but prices start from..)

Adults: 7 EUR
Children: 3,50 EUR
Penguins: free entry

For detail on the prices click here.

A little bit of history

Orava castle was built in the place of a former fortified fortress, right after the Tartar raids, in the mid 13th century.
The first known written record of the existence of Orava Castle comes from 1267.
Over the years the castle was seized and owned by many, including Stibor of Śćiborzyc (1420), John Zapolya (1505), or John of Dubovec (1534) who initiated extensive modernization works focusing primarily on the castle’s fortification system.
During the first anti-Habsburg insurrection (1605) led by Stephen Boscskai, forces attempted to seize Orava Castle but unsuccessfully.
Later a few directors changed in the position of taking care of the castle.
In 1800 the great fire broke out and destroyed almost the whole castle complex. After its two weeks’ course, Orava Castle was left useless and was facing its ending.
In 1944 Orava Castle occupied by the German Nazi army.
1953 Orava Castle became the seat of Orava National History Museum. In the same year, the general restoration of the castle began.

Some other interesting facts

The highest part of the Orava Castle rises to a height of 112 meters above the river Orava.
When you climb up and down the whole castle, you will have 754 steps behind you.
The castle consists of 155 rooms, but not all of them are open to the public.
The castle is also famous for movies being shot there – like in 1922 they made the German film Vampire from Nosferatu.

Legend says…

The older the castle the more legends it has and Orava castle is no exception.

Pack with the devil

Already when it was built, the legend says that the castle couldn’t be built by any man, that’s why the rich nobleman who owned the fortress made a pact with a devil. The devil was supposed to build the most spectacular home for the nobleman in one night, otherwise, the nobleman’s soul will end up in hell. But the devil didn’t succeed and he wasn’t able to finish the castle in one night, he was missing to place three boulders. In his anger, the devil threw them away and now one boulder can be seen at Dolna Lehota, another at Šibenica hill, and the third one nobody knows where it is.

The Lady in White

Also known as the legend of Dončo´s wife, which you can see also displayed as a figurine in the castle. The legend says, she was the wife of a prominent knight, Dončo, who had a reputation of being very cruel and evil. One day he came home drunk and wanted to let out his anger on their maid, which the wife did not allow, and he cut off her hand in the fight. She lived with pain for a while before she died. He died shortly after and her ghost can be seen twice a year, walking the palace grounds all in white with a bloody hand where her husband has severed it. She can be seen especially around the Day of all Saints (1st of November), where she is paying at the citadel for her husband’s sins.

Sad Barbora

Barbora was the first wife of Francis Turzo, and it is said she was very sad while living in the castle and it never felt like home to her. She was crying a lot while living there and in the end died childless and pretty young. Some even claim that someone else helped her to her death. Till today one can hear a woman crying in some hallways. That is the reason many give a greeting before entering the Middle castle. One never knows.

The Lady in Black

The legend is bound to the second wife of George Thurzo, her name was Elizabeth Coborov. To made the life of her wife more comfortable at the castle, he started with a big renovation, but soon the King called him into service and the wife was left alone in the castle with only the workers. She wanted the castle to be finished when her husband returns and was always checking on the workers making sure the reconstruction progresses. Once a worker said under his nose that she does not do anything, only walks around. Elizabeth heard him and in anger said that she will check and make sure work is progressing till her death abd if possible even after she dies. Little did she know the truth of her words. After her death years later, people started to see a lady in black walking the corridors with white gloves and a lantern in her hands at night and checking every corner.

The white dove and hawk

When Count Peter Komorovský lived in the castle he was applying the right of the first night where he abducted virtuous women from churches who just entered the holy matrimony and then dishonored them in the castle, sometimes even tortured or killed. Once he was going to get a girl named Maria, but she preferred to die than to be dishonored and jumped out the window. The Count looked outside the window after her from the window and in that moment lightning stoke him and he burned to ashes. After a while, people noticed a white dove and a hawk flying around the castle, sometimes even seen today.

**Checking the corners as the lady in black**

Ghost hunters at the castle

In 2008, six specialists conducted research at the Orava Castle to confirm the presence of paranormal phenomena at the castle. And it is also the employees of the castle that have their own stories of paranormal activity.

You can see the whole Ghost Hunter International episode on Youtube.

Impressions

My own impressions are very positive, even though one has to waddle quite a lot and up many stairs (just prepare for a lot of stairs). It is a nice walk-through and when you go in the summer also a nice cooldown.

Filled with many interesting rooms to walk in with furniture one can imagine how was life years back.

It is interesting to see what grows and lives in the beautiful region as they are very rich.

**A tree that was older than a 1000 years**

The journey through the castle will take you hundreds of years back as you can see in the pictures.

In the middle of the castle, one can enjoy a nice natural history exhibition showing the fauna and flora of Rohace mountains, one of the most breathtaking parts of Western Tatras.

Apart from having a great experience at the castle, one can learn a lot as well.

One extra mention needs to be for what I call the movie room, where you can see an exhibition from all the movies that were done on the castle, including some behind-the-scenes pictures. Many movies found their new home in Orava region dominant, e.g. King Thrushbeard, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, The Princess and the Pauper to name only a few.