Trenčín Castle
Hilltop castle above Trenčín with Matthew's Tower, palaces and a Roman inscription of AD 179.
Trenčín Castle crowns a steep limestone rock above the river Váh and is one of the largest castle complexes in Slovakia. A fortified settlement stood here in prehistory, and a Roman inscription cut into the rock below the castle in AD 179 records a victory by a detachment of the Second Legion; it is the northernmost Roman inscription in central Europe. The stone castle grew from the eleventh century and reached its greatest extent under Matúš Čák of Trenčín in the early fourteenth century.
Later owners, chiefly the Zápolya and Illésházy families, added Renaissance palaces, gates and artillery bastions. A fire in 1790 left the castle a ruin, and it was consolidated and partly rebuilt from the 1950s onward. It is now administered by the Trenčín Museum. Visitors can walk the courtyards and ramparts on a self-guided circuit or join a guided tour of the palaces and the keep known as Matthew's Tower, which gives a wide view over the town.
Highlights
- Matthew's Tower keep with views over the Váh valley
- Roman inscription of AD 179 cut into the castle rock
- Renaissance palaces of the Zápolya and Illésházy families
- Self-guided small circuit and guided tour of the upper castle
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