Spiš Castle: Difference between revisions

The ruins of '''Spiš Castle''' ({{lang-sk| Spišský hrad}}, {{Audio|Sk-Spišský hrad.ogg|pronunciation}}; {{lang-hu|Szepesi vár}}; {{lang-pl|Zamek Spiski}}; {{lang-de|Zipser Burg}}) in eastern [[Slovakia]] formbelong sixthto six largest [[castle]]s sitesites in Slovakia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spiš Castle |url=http://www.spisskyhrad.sk/en.html|website=wwww.spisskyhrad.sk}}</ref> The castle is situated above the town of [[Spišské Podhradie]] and the village of [[Žehra]], in the region known as [[Spiš]] ({{lang-hu|Szepes}}, {{lang-de|link=no|Zips}}, {{lang-pl|Spisz}}, {{lang-la|Scepusium}}). It was included in the [[UNESCO]] list of [[World Heritage Sites]] in 1993 (together with the adjacent locations of [[Spišská Kapitula]] and [[Žehra]]). The size of the castle arearea is area 3,9 ha (39,000 m²²). It is administered by the [[Spiš Museum]] at [[Levoča]], a division of the [[Slovak National Museum]].

Spiš Castle was built in the twelfth century on the site of an earlier castle. It was the political, administrative, economic and cultural center of [[Szepes County]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Setton |first1=Kenneth M. |title=The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571): the Sixteenth Century from Julius III to Pius V |date=1984 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=9780871691613 |oclc=20475333|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgQNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA315|accessdate=15 June 2023}}</ref> of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. Before 1464, it was owned by the [[List of rulers of Hungary|kings of Hungary]], until the time of [[Matthias Corvinus|King Matthias Corvinus]], then (until 1528) by the [[John Zápolya|Zápolya]] family, the [[Thurzó]] family (1531–1635), the [[Imre Csáky (cardinal)|Csáky]] family (1638–1945), and (since 1945) by the state of [[Czechoslovakia]] and then [[Slovakia]].

The last owners of the Spiš Castle, the Csáky family, abandoned the castle in the early eighteenth century because they considered it too uncomfortable to live in. They moved to the newly built nearby village castles/palaces in Hodkovce near [[Žehra]] and [[Spišský Hrhov]].

In 1780, the castle was destroyed in a fire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spissky Hrad and Levoca |url=https://www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Spissky+Hrad+and+Levoca|website=World Heritage Site}}</ref> The cause of the blaze is unknown, but there are a few theories. One is that the Csáky family purposefully burned it down to reduce taxes as at the time additional taxes applied to roofed buildings. Another is that it was struck by lightning, which started the fire. A third is that some soldiers in the castle were making moonshine and in the process accidentally started the fire. Whatever the case, after the fire, the castle was no longer occupied and began to fall into disrepair.

The castle was partly reconstructed in the second half of the twentieth century, and extensive archaeological research was carried out on the site. The reconstructed sections house displays of the [[Spiš Museum]], which is responsible for managing the castle,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.snm.sk/?spisske-muzeum-o-muzeu |title=Spišské múzeum -Poslanie a história múzea (Spiš Museum - mission and history of the museum) |author=<!--Not stated--> |language=sk|date=n.d. |website=[[Slovak National Museum]] |publisher=Slovak National Museum |access-date=2 November 2020 |quote=}}</ref> and artefacts such as torture devices formerly used in the castle.