Nitra Castle

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Aerial view of Nitra Castle

The Nitra Castle ( Hrad Nitriansky Slovak, German and Nitra Castle ) is located in the west of Slovakia in Nitra.

History

The Nitra castle was built on the site of a mighty fortress in the 11th century. A first castle was built between the 9th and 11th centuries and was the seat of the ruler of Great Moravia Pribinov Svatopluk

The attack of the Tatars in 1241, they stood firm; but it fell in 1663 to a Turkish attack. Large parts of the castle therefore come from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The fortress then became a bishop of the Diocese of Nitra what it is today.

Construction

The system consists of several parts. At its core is the Cathedral of St. Emmeram with the bishop's residence. The Church of St. Emmeram is the oldest part of the cathedral. She served as the so-called credible place of the chapter and later as the treasury of the cathedral. The original Gothic upper church was built in the years 1333-1335; three centuries later, the lower church. Visitors falls mainly on the external defenses of the castle complex. Some parts of the fixing date from the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

Tower legend

The square tower Vazilova veža ( German " Vazuls Tower " ) is a legend connected: The heir and nephew of the Hungarian king Stephen I, Vazul (Slovak Vasil ), was imprisoned in the Tower. But his eyes were not able to enjoy the view, as they had been gouged out; his ears could not hear because his tormentors had poured lead. The monk Fulgentius have therefore a terrible curse pronounced for the two extinct eyes of Prince Vasil that seemed like two suns, falls for two days night on the town. Old scriptures say it was really dark for two days in the city, but due to a plague of locusts.