The dominant of the town Trenčín and the region Považie
The castle is built on top of a steep rock – very dramatic if you ask me, and is the dominant of the small town of Trenčín. It is one of the biggest ones in Europe and has a rich history and of course legends around it. It was built in the 11th century as a fortress, used for guarding, but later it became the seat of many aristocrats.
Trenčín is among the smaller cities with a nice square, but once you arrive, your eyes will be drawn toward the castle. Visible from wherever you go and it’s a feast for the eyes to look upon. The history of the castle goes back to the age of the Roman Empire, as is the overall region, said to be settled since the Celtic times.
Accessibility
You can get to the city of Trenčín with various transportation – bus, car, train, bike or if you live close by even waddle here.
We choose to travel by train from Bratislava, which took a little over an hour. The train station is close to the city center (including the castle) and it took us about ten minutes to waddle and we were in the main square.
If you choose to come by car (the E75 highway from Bratislava), Trenčín offers many parking opportunities, even a parking house and the price depends on how long you stay, but there is no issue finding a space where to park your car and as mentioned, since Trenčín is a rather small town, you can walk to the castle.
A dramatic cliff-top castle above the Vah River.
Practical Information
The castle is open all year long and the opening hours vary depending on the month you are visiting (a little confusing when you check their site, it’s like a riddle almost 😅).
Note also that you can enter the castle from the main entrance gate, but also from the forest park, where tickets are also being sold and the opening hour for purchasing tickets again depends on from which part you are entering.
APRIL – OCTOBER: 9 am – 6.45 pm (last entrance at 5.45 pm)
NOVEMBER – MARCH: 9 am – 4.45 pm (last entrance at 3.45 pm)
For more detailed information visit their website here – link.
We waddled up from the city, taking it through the main entrance. Be prepared it’s quite a hill up and you might get sweaty.
ADMISSION
The castle offers a small and a big circuit, in the big one you can only go with a guide and it goes every hour starting at 10 am with the last entrance at 5 pm. With the small circuit, you can waddle alone.
The Small Circuit or Basic Tour
- Adults and children: 7 EUR
- Children from 3 to 5 years: 1,50 EUR
- Students: 4,50 EUR
- Seniors and elderly: 6 EUR
- Penguins: free entry
The Big Circuit or Grand Tour
- Adults and children: 8,50 EUR
- Children from 3 to 5 years: 2 EUR
- Students: 5,50 EUR
- Seniors and elderly: 6,50 EUR
- Penguins: free entry
After purchasing tickets you show them to the guy or lady standing in front of the entrance and they will let you in.
A little bit of history
Let’s take a closer look at the history of the castle, which is rich and you can read more here, but below are a few highlights.
- The castle hill as such was already inhabited in Celtic times.
- The castle itself was built in the 11th century as a fortress – which makes it one of the oldest castles in Slovakia. Its task was to protect the nearby border as well as trade and ferry routes through Vah.
- At the end of the 13th century, the most famous ruler and owner of the castle was Matúš Čák of Trenčín (or Máté Csák of Trencsén) who made the castle the center of his vast possessions. Apart from this he also owned like 50 castles, just imagine the maintenance on that. He became known as the legendary Lord of Váh and Tatras.
- In 1321, after the death of Matúš Čák, the castle was captured after a long siege, by the army of King Charles I of Hungary and remained in the hands of the king for the next century and a half.
- In the 15th century, the castle withstood several sieges of Hussites.
- In 1475 the castle fell into the hands of Stefan Zapolya, and in 1493 it became the hereditary property of this family and remained with them until 1527.
- The 17th century – the castle almost taken by the Turks
- On June 11, 1790, a huge fire erupted and almost destroyed the city, devastating the castle as well. After the fire, the general reconstruction began only in 1956, and finishing works are still in progress.
- Today, in its ancient premises, there are exhibition spaces and several expositions of the Trenčín Museum.
Read also: Most haunted castle in Slovakia
Legend says…
The Legend of Fatima and Omar
The legend says that the castle lord Stephen Zapolya captured the beautiful Turkish princess Fatima and the Turkish prince Omar, who loved Fatima was given the task of digging a well in the castle. For four years he had to dig into the rock to bring the water to the castle and then was released along with Fatima. The well is 80 m deep and is also known as the well of love.
Matthew’s tomb and treasure
Matthew (Matúš Čák of Trenčín) was the legendary ruler not only of the castle, but was called the Lord of Váh and Tatras. He was very powerful owning over 50 castles., but legend says his tomb is hidden somewhere at Trenčín castle together with a huge treasure filled with gold and other precious metals. Fortune seekers tried to find it, but till today it was never found. Some believe him to be buried underneath the Váh river bed, or someplace in the woods and not the castle.
Impressions
Today, the existing Castle area is administered by the Museum of Trenčín. As you read in the history section, with various owners they each altered and re-built something on the castle to fit their vision. Like King Louis of Anjou who built a new palace – the Louis palace that presently houses an exhibit of the 17th – 19th-century furniture. Or Sigmund of Luxembourg who donated the castle to his wife Barbora Cellska and built the Barbora´s palace for her. Stephen Zápoľský acquired the castle at the end of the 15thcentury and started expansive rebuilds.
The barracks were used to house the garrison and were also used to store munition. Today the barracks house an exposition of medieval and modern fire guns.
The oubliette was originally built as an observation tower. Later, the tower started to serve as the castle´s dungeon. Since 2014, the tower has expositions of medieval torture devices.
You can even try out some of the medieval torturing devices.
Matthew´s Tower
Among our favorite parts of the castle is the Matthew Tower, which is also the oldest building of habitable and defensive type in the castle. It was built in the 11th century in Romanesque style and later rebuilt or remodeled into Gothic style.
It is said that the 4th floor used to be a workroom of Matúš Čák of Trenčín, in modern words his home office.
Entering the tower, a nice exhibition awaits you, where you can imagine what the overall life looked like.
As this is a tower and elevators were not yet popular in those times, be prepared for stairs (my oldest enemy), but it’s not as dramatic. There are separate floors with various displays where you can catch your breath and take a break.
However, note that the stairs are quite narrow but worth the waddle. Once up, the views are breathtaking.
During the summer months, there are activities on the castle grounds, such as archery and commemorative coin striking so keep on the lookout.
We exited the castle the same way as we entered, but stopped on the way down at the Parish Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary.
It was built in 1324, on the foundation of a 13th-century building and is one of the most valuable and the oldest sacred buildings in the town.
Over the years it also burned down and was rebuilt, but is also a nice stop on the way down to the city. You can visit the church before or after mass, which takes place on Monday – Friday at 16.00, on Saturday at 8.30 and on Sunday at 9.00 and 11.00.
The castle was very nice and is also family friendly, highly recommended for a day trip from Bratislava.