Bojnice Castle is a romantic castle, with the original Gothic and Renaissance foundations of the castle partially preserved. It is located in the Trenčín region (Trenčiansky kraj) and lies on the western edge of the town of Bojnice. The castle is visible from most of the Upper Nitra region (Horná Nitra). It is built on travertine rock and consists of an inner and outer castle with three courtyards.
Bojnice Castle currently has a romantic character, which can also be seen on the facade of the residential tower, which is very fragmented. Also, openings in the walls, portals, walls, attics and various forged details are typical of romantic architecture. The castle is part of the Slovak National Museum. It was declared a National Cultural Monument in 1970 and is open to the public. In the fifties, a cave was discovered under the castle.
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.
Character park
The park around Bojnice Castle is planted as a natural park. Originally it should have been a romantic park with various attractions, e. g. ruins. The first record about the gardeners of Bojnice Castle comes from 1910. There are several rare and interesting trees in the character park these days.
Cave
A natural travertine cave of the diameter of 22 meters and the height of 6 meters is located 26 meters under the smallest courtyard.. Existence of the cave is a result of rainfalls that flow in the crater and external crashes into the middle of the travertine hill. The water disrupted the travertine and washed it away. It formed the present round room of the cave with decoration on its walls. There are two small lakes in the cave that are probably connected with others. The inhabitants must have known about the existence of the cave because it was used as a shelter and as a water reservoir. It was repeatedly discovered in1888 when the well was cleaned and repaired during the last reconstraction of the castle. The cave was first opened to public in 1967.
Source: www.bojnicecastle.skAddress & Contact, Photo, Panorama, Attractions around, Nature around
Western Tatras (Západné Tatry)