Žilina Gallery :: Fotogaléria mesta Žiliny

28 – Budatín Castle in Žilina

Turistická informačná tabuľka č. 28 s QR (Quick Response) kódom na Budatínskom hrade
(Foto: 11. 3. 2014)

Budatín Castle: Budatín castle has a rich history. The first written mention dates from 1321 (Castrum Budetyn). According to recent archaeological findings, it was probably built in the late 13th century at the confluence of the Váh and Kysuce rivers as a watch–castle. From this period, a part of the original ground-floor of the tower has been preserved. It is interesting how the tower was built. In the middle of the marsh was located a small hill, to which were added layers of imported clay, thereby creating an artificial hill.
Owners of the castle: It is believed that Budatín castle was built by the Balaš family who owned the land here. The castle has had many owners, one of them being Matthew Csák of Trenčín. In the 15th century, the castle was already the king’s property and Sigismund of Luxemburg donated it to his wife Barbora. Unfortunately this was the period of the Hussite incursions in Slovakia and probably that is why in 1429 it was described as unworthy. Juraj of Hatné, who received the castle for his faithful services to the king, started its reconstruction. He died in 1450 and his widow remarried a certain Gašpar Suňog. The castle was certainly donated to the Suňog family in 1487 for faithful services to the King Matthias Korvin. The family owned the building until 1727, when the Budatín Suňog family ceased to exist and the castle passed into the hands of the Silesian part of the family. However, this family did not own it for a longtime either. In 1798, the last male descendant Ján died. His daughter Jozefína married Anton Csáki. Budatín stayed in the property of the family Csáky until 1945.
Čáki´s period: The family Csáki succeeded in giving Budatín the configuration of a castle. They demolished the walls and erected a ground-building consisting of a chapel and a classical double-storey mansion. They transformed and converted the area of the castle grounds to a comfortable modern seat of nobility. In the revolutionary years 1848 – 1849, the building suffered a cruel blow. On January 10th, 1849 departing soldiers carelessly left a fire burning which engulfed the entire building and the newly built mansion was burnt to the ground. The castle grounds began to fall into disrepair and decay. Ladislav Csáki, thanks to profit from his iron factory in Prakovce, began with the reconstruction in 1870, which unfortunately, did not respect the original design. The final changes were made by Gejza in 1920 - 1922, when the property acquired its present form. The last owner did not leave the building even after nationalization, such was his affection for Budatín. In his old age, however, he accepted the offer from his daughter Natália, who lived in France and emigrated with the consent of the authorities. Since 1996, the area has consistently been undergoing major reconstruction. You can walk in Budatín´s park, which is situated in the area of Budatin´s castle.

Source: PhDr. Marián Mrva. Text prevzatý z webovej stránky TIK Žilina (kliknite): www.tikzilina.eu.