We took a break from the High Tatras mountains one day to give the kids a break from hiking and headed to Spissky Hrad (Castle). It was located only 30-35 minutes away from Nova Lesna. The castle is one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe and was declared an UNESCO Heritage site in 1993.
The castle was initially dated back to the beginning of the 12th century. It was originally on the northern frontier of an Old Hungarian state but then it became head of the Spis region for many centuries after that. It has also endured several additions and reconstructions by different heads of states over the years.
However, part of the reason that the castle remains in ruins is because it was destroyed by fire in 1780 and was never restored until in the 1970’s some work was done to stabilize it. They have been doing some further restoration efforts on it more recently. There is now a museum located within the interior of the castle that shows what some of the different rooms, a chapel and the torture chamber may have looked like. However, the ruins gave the castle a cool feel.
There was also a large yard surrounding by the castle wall that you could walk along.
One of the parts I love about Europe is how they utilize the castles for things today – this castle actually hosts concerts or other events in it – how cool is that??