TematÃn
Overlooking the castle ruins
The castle Tematín (Slovak Tematínsky hrad or Tematín, Hungarian Temetvény ) is a ruined hill fort in western Slovakia. It lies in the western half of the Inowetz (Slovak Považský Inovec ) east of the communities Lúka and Hrádok.
History
The Gothic castle was built towards the middle of the 13th century, to secure the north-west frontier of the Hungarian state, as well as the castles Beckov and Trenčín further north. The first mention dates back to 1270. According to legend, the name comes from the Hungarian word Temetőhely ( German tomb ), the spoofing of the population according to Tematín.
Due to the defensive role, the castle remained long in the royal possession ( with the exception of Matthew Csák at the beginning of the 14th century ), before they went to the nobility in the late 14th century. The most famous owners were from the families Thurzos, Ujlaky and Bercsényi. Until the 16th century the castle defense role was true: it was formed by a square tower and palace, surrounded by castle walls with a Gothic portal to the atrium.
In the 16th century the outer bailey was further amplified and separated from the upper castle through a narrow passage to be the advances in military affairs needs. The gate was supplemented by two bastions and a moat. With further construction in the 17th century in the Upper Castle and expansion of the living rooms, the castle was a relatively comfortable seat of power.
The downfall came with the outbreak of the Rákóczi uprising against the Habsburgs in the early 18th century. Miklós Bercsényi, who was born in 1665 in the castle and was a leader of the Kuruzzen should be 1710 a rumor after hiding in the castle. In fact, he fled shortly before the siege by Heisters army; the garrison surrendered after three days. Since then, the castle has been abandoned and is slowly falling.
Access
The easiest access is from the resort Bezovec near Nová Lehota. About an asphalt road and a tourist trail (red and blue) is the ruin of one and a half hours a day. Other paths lead from Lúka (via blue -marked trail, two and a quarter hours) or Hrádok ( marked on blue and yellow paths, two and a half hours) to ruin.