Bojnice Castle

Bojnice Castle
Bojnice Castle
Bojnický zámok
Bojnice; Slovakia
	Bojnice Castle
Type	Castle
Site information
Owner	Slovak Republic
Controlled by	Kingdom of Hungary (from 12th century until 1920), Czechoslovakia (from 1920 until 1993), Slovakia (since 1993)
Open to; the public	Yes, opening hours apply to the museum and guided tours
Condition	Completely reconstructed after fire in 1950
Site history
Built	12th century; Rebuilt in 1889-1910
Events	Notable events in the castle's life: 1528, major reconstruction after it was acquired by the Thurzó family;

Bojnice Castle (

Hungarian kings and nobleman from the 12th century until the territory became part of Czechoslovakia after the Treaty of Trianon

in 1920 and was acquired by a Czech entrepreneur in 1939.

History

Bojnice Castle was first mentioned in written records in 1113, in a document held at the

Thurzós, the richest family in the northern Kingdom of Hungary, acquired the castle in 1528 and undertook its major reconstruction. The former fortress was turned into a Renaissance

castle. From 1646 on, the castle's owners were the Pálffys, who continued to rebuild the castle.

Finally, the last famous castle owner from the Pálffy family,

Bata

).

After 1945, when Baťa's property was confiscated by the Czechoslovak government, the castle became the seat of several state institutions. On 9 May 1950, a fire broke out in the castle, but it was rebuilt at government expense. After this reconstruction, a museum specializing in the documentation and presentation of the era of architectural neo-styles was opened here. Bojnice Museum is now part of the Slovak National Museum today.

Description

The castle is renowned for its attractions, including the popular Castle Fairytale, the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits and the Summer Music Festival. The romantic castle is also a popular location for filming fairy tale movies, such as

Fantaghirò. In 2006, the castle attracted about 200,000 visitors. It hosts the single most popular museum in Slovakia and has featured in many movies^{[citation needed}

].

Legends

There are many legends relating to the Bojnice Castle, known mostly to the locals. These include the Legend of a Broken Heart,[1] The Story of Peter Poky,^[2] and the most famous of them all, The Legend of the Black Lady.

Castle park

Bojnice Castle is surrounded by the castle park featuring numerous species of trees. The park also contains the Bojnice Zoo, the oldest and one of the most visited zoos in Slovakia. The castle park continues in the form of a forest park in the Strážov Mountains.