Ľubovňa Castle

A border fortress that belonged to Poland for 360 years

Ľubovňa Castle (Ľubovniansky hrad) stands on a 548 m limestone hill above the town of Stará Ľubovňa and the left bank of the Poprad. It was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries as a guard castle on the trade route to Poland; the first written mention dates from 1311. In 1412 King Sigismund of Luxembourg of Hungary and King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland met here: they made peace, and Sigismund borrowed 37,000 threescore of Prague groschen from Władysław, pledging 13 towns of Spiš in return. The castle became the seat of the Polish starostas and remained pledged until 1772 — more than 360 years.

After a fire in 1553 starosta Jan Boner rebuilt the fortress in Renaissance style, and under the Lubomirski family in the 17th century a Baroque palace (1642) and the Chapel of St Michael the Archangel (1647) were added. In 1655–1661, during the Swedish–Polish war, the Polish crown jewels were hidden in the castle before being taken to Wawel. In 1683 King John III Sobieski stopped here after his victory at Vienna, and in 1768 the traveller Móric Beňovský was imprisoned in the tower. The last private owners were the Polish Counts Zamoyski, who lived here until 1944.

What to see

• The Gothic keep (bergfried) — its top storey, once the trumpeter’s room, is now a viewing platform overlooking the Tatras and the Three Crowns in the Pieniny.
• The Baroque palace with kitchens, a hunting salon and rooms devoted to the Raisz and Zamoyski families.
• Replicas of the Polish crown jewels in the room below the chapel, where the soldiers’ old stove survives.
• The western Renaissance bastion with casemates and the high Baroque bastion with its iron-clad gate.
• In summer (1 July–31 August) — guided tours every half hour from 9:45 and falconry shows at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:30.

Practical information

The castle rises on the northern edge of Stará Ľubovňa; you leave the car at the car park below the hill, from where a short climb leads to the gate. A visit takes about 1.5 hours, or up to two hours with a guide; you can also explore on your own with information texts. Prices in 2026: adults €10, children aged 6–19 €5, students and over-60s €7, family ticket €20; combined castle + open-air museum ticket €13 (family €24). Photography is free and dogs are not allowed. Groups of more than 20 can book a tour in English or Polish at least two days ahead, and there are special programmes for blind and deaf visitors — ask at the ticket office.

From May to 13 September the castle is open daily 9:00–19:00, in the second half of September until 18:00, in October Wednesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, and from November to March only Friday to Sunday (as of October 2026). Steps, cobbles and narrow passages make it awkward with a pushchair, but for school-age children it is one of the most enjoyable castles in eastern Slovakia.

Nearby

Right below the castle lies the Ľubovňa open-air museum with the wooden church from Matysová. To the west, in the Pieniny, are Červený Kláštor and the Dunajec raft trip, and to the east medieval Bardejov.

Official website: hradlubovna.sk

Photos: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jaro Nemčok, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Juraj Habaj, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Michal Jakubský, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Rapid33, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Andrzej Harassek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.