Discovering Slovakia: Orava castle

Orava is a mountainous region in northern Slovakia that offers a wide range of attractions for tourists. From one of the oldest dams in Slovakia – the Orava dam – suitable for water sports with a lot of camping and private accommodation options on the shores, to the wooden church in Tvrdošín and Orava Castle located atop a mountain hill in the village of Oravský Podzámok.

The Orava castle is one of the most beautiful castles in Slovakia. It is located atop a mountain cliff in the village of Oravský Podzámok. The river Orava passes just below the cliff. The castle was located on a historically strategic road passing from Poland to Hungary. The castle buildings lay in three layers – the bottom, middle and upper parts – and were gradually built between 13th and 17th century. The first mentions of the castle is dated from 1267 in a donation letter that appoints a new owner of the castle – the king Belo the Fourth. Since then it belonged to the Hungarian royal family until the 16th century. The new owners, the Thurzo family, did extensive restorations and expanded the castle. However, in the 17th century, the youngest son Imrich Thurzo died suddenly at the age of 23 without a male heir. Since then the Thurzo family property, inherited by his 7 sisters, was managed by an appointed governor, who became the head of the Orava Compossessorate. After 1953, the Orava castle became a national historical monument and was extensively renovated and later opened to public. The guided visit lasts good two hours. It will take you to all parts of the castle and includes some serious stairs climbing.

Oravský hrad je jedným z najkrajších na Slovensku. Nachádza sa na vrchole brala nad riekou Oravou v dedinke Oravský Podzámok. Rozkladal sa na historicky dôležitej ceste z Poľska do Uhorska. Skladá sa z troch častí – vrchného, strdného a spodného hradu, ktoré sa stavali postupne medzi 13. až 17 storočím. Prvá zmienka o hrade je v darovacej listine z roku 1267, ktorou sa novým majiteľom hradu stal Uhorský kráľ Belo IV. Odvtedy patril hrad do majetku uhorskej kráľovskej rodiny. V 16. storočí sa novými majiteľmi stali Thurzovci, ktorí hrad renovovali a pristavali palác a ďaľšie budovy. V 17. storočí však náhle zomrel najmladší syn Imrich a tým vymrel rod Thurzov po mužskej línii. Majetok zdedilo jeho 7 sestier, ktoré na jeho mažovanie vytvorili Oravský komposesorát vedený zvoleným členom rodiny. Hrad bol potom často stredom ozbrojených bitiek a v roku 1800 vyhorel. V roku 1953 bol zaradený medzi národné kultúrne dedičstvo a začalo sa s jeho zdĺhavou rekonštrukciou. Hrad neskôr sprístupnili aj verejnosti. Obhliadka hradu trvá dobré dve hodiny a rátajte s tým, že sa riadne našlapete po schodoch. 🙂

Place/Miesto: Orava, Oravský Podzámok

Date / Dátum: July 2016

More information: Muzeum.sk, Oravské múzeum, Wiki