This enchanting castle, one of the oldest and most significant landmarks in Slovakia, is located in the spa town of Bojnice in the Trenčín region. At first glance, its resemblance to beautiful French castles is striking.
The castle sits on a travertine hill above the town. The first written mention of the probable existence of a castle in Bojnice dates to 1113. Originally a wooden structure, it was gradually rebuilt in stone in the 13th century as the property of the Hont-Pázmány family. At the end of the 13th century, it was seized by the nobleman Matthew Csák of Trenčín. Later, the castle was owned by other significant noble families: the Gileths, the Lords of Jelšava, the Noffrys, the Hunyadis, the Szapolyais, and the Thurzós. After the Thurzó family died out, Emperor Ferdinand III mortgaged the Bojnice estate to Paul Pálffy in 1645. In 1852, the last aristocratic owner, Count János Pálffy, inherited it. The castle was in very poor condition, as his father had squandered a great fortune in Viennese casinos. At first, he thought about selling the castle but decided to renovate it instead. A significant reconstruction into a château took place between 1889 and 1910. He died in Vienna in 1908 without direct heirs and did not live to see the renovation completed.
Tragic crown of thorns
Legend has it that during his many travels, Count Pálffy fell in love with a beautiful young French countess, and their relationship inspired the final reconstruction of the castle into a château, modeled on French châteaux. However, the renovation took a long 22 years, and the countess did not wait for him - she married another. In response, Count Pálffy placed a thorn crown atop one of the towers as a symbol of his broken heart.
Ghosts and fairy tales
The castle attracts a large number of visitors each year. Tours are also available in English. The castle is open year-round, though it is not open every day outside of the main season, so it is important to check the website for details. Every May, the event Ghosts at Bojnice Castle is held, and in June, the Fairytale Castle. The tour begins in the first courtyard, from where we proceed inside the castle and visit the count's apartment. Visitors then pass through the five-sided tower, which houses precious tapestries, embroideries, and wood carvings from the 14th and 15th centuries. Next is the winter garden, where visitors can compare models of the castle before and after the Neo-Gothic reconstruction. We then enter the gallery, displaying paintings from the 16th to the 19th century.
Angelic decorations
One of the highlights is the portrait of Count János Pálffy at age 28, which was part of the property auctioned off after the count's death. After 100 years, the painting was returned thanks to a diligent museum employee who found out it was being auctioned in Canada. We also visit Count Pálffy's bedroom before moving on to the most opulent room in the castle - the Golden Hall. This room got its name from its ceiling, adorned with 183 angelic faces, each gilded with 24-carat gold and each with a different expression. In the center is the 184th angel holding the Pálffy family crest. This room is used to welcome newborns and is also a venue for civil weddings. The next stop is the chapel, where visitors can see the Bojnice altarpiece, created in mid- 14th century Florence. It consists of 10 panels painted on wooden boards. In 1933, five upper panels were stolen, but after a year, the thieves were caught, and the entire altarpiece was sent to Prague for restoration. It took a long 62 years for the altarpiece to return to Bojnice Castle.
From the well to the bedroom
We then move to the smallest and oldest fourth courtyard, which features a well 26 meters deep. From here, a spiral staircase leads to the castle's various rooms. We enter the blue salon, with its beautiful co????ered ceiling adorned with 164 gilded stars, among which are the coats of arms of the castle's most prominent owners: the Pálffys, the Hunyadis, and the Szapolyais. Next, we visit the bedroom and living quarters. The final part of this floor is the Marble Hall, named after the marble floor. On the next floor are the reception hall, dressing room, bathroom, and a large hall divided by a beautiful carved wall into living and sleeping quarters. Other rooms include the hunting room and
the coat of arms hall. The tour then ascends to the knight’s hall, from which visitors can enter the citadel.
The legend of the knight‘s hall
It is said that if a female visitor to the castle sits on one of the benches in the knight's hall, she will have a child within a year. Those who sit on the left will have a boy, those on the right will have a girl, and those who sit by the fireplace will have twins. Some couples who visited the castle indeed wrote back a year later, announcing the birth of their child. One of the last rooms visitors see is the great hall. Today, this grand room hosts concerts, and its centerpiece is an 18th-century chandelier weighing a remarkable 700 kg. The chandelier is three meters tall and 3.5 meters wide. The penultimate stop on the tour is the family crypt of Count János Pálffy, where the sarcophagi of his parents are also located. Count Pálffy died on June 2, 1908, in Vienna. His body was transported to Bojnice Castle in a tin coffin and buried there. He was placed in the sarcophagus three years later. He had no descendants and wished for all his collections to be made accessible to the public. However, this did not happen, as his heirs auctioned off many valuable items between 1924 and 1926. In 1939, Bojnice Castle was sold to Jan, the brother of prominent Czech entrepreneur Tomáš Baťa. Under the Beneš decrees, the castle was confiscated after World War II. In 1950, the castle became a state museum.
THE WEEPING COUNT
In 1990, a reddish-brown liquid began seeping from the count‘s sarcophagus, and no one could determine its origin. Rumors spread that the count was weeping because the stolen panels of the Bojnice altar had not yet returned to the castle. Cameras were installed in the sarcophagus, and the liquid was analyzed. It was discovered that in the upper part of the sarcophagus, where the coffin was sealed with tin, the joints had loosened. Embalming fluid had found its way out through tiny cracks in the marble. Interestingly, the seeping lasted until 1995, the year the stolen altar panels were finally returned to the castle. The tour concludes with a visit to the travertine cave, where visitors can look down into the well that was seen in the fourth courtyard. The cave also contains three pools and is refreshingly cool during the summer.
Sarcophagus of Count Ján Pálffy.
