Ľupča Castle

A royal castle above the Hron

Ľupča Castle (Ľupčiansky hrad, Hrad Ľupča) rises above the village of Slovenská Ľupča in the Hron valley, about 10 km east of Banská Bystrica. It stands on the south-eastern edge of the Starohorské vrchy hills at about 440 m and is a national cultural monument of Slovakia. The castle, named Liptza, was first mentioned in 1250: it was built on the site of an older hillfort after the Mongol invasion of 1241. Its strategic position on the road to the central Slovak mining towns made Ľupča a frequent residence of the Hungarian kings.

In June 1443 a strong earthquake badly damaged the castle; after it, and again after 1572, when the new administrator Pavol Rubigall began a reconstruction, it was repaired and enlarged. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries Ľupča often changed hands and was repeatedly plundered, and after a fire it fell into decline. The abandoned castle housed an orphanage, later a school and a reformatory, and after the Second World War a vocational school. In 2002 it passed to the Železiarne Podbrezová steelworks, which carried out an extensive restoration: today it is one of the best-kept castles in Slovakia.

What to see

• A 62.5 m deep well cut into the rock of the upper castle, with a secret passage leading outside the walls.
• The castle chapel with frescoes and its original altar, and a sacristy with a richly painted wooden ceiling.
• The Corvinus lime tree (Korvínova lipa) in the lower courtyard, estimated at more than 700 years old – one of the oldest lime trees in Central Europe.
• Two richly decorated stone portals, including the Pavol Rubigall portal, the Mária Séč room, an exhibition of sculptures by Ján Kulich and the original 1725 statues from the plague column on the square of Slovenská Ľupča.
• In the lower castle – 12 information stops, three exhibitions and a hunting salon.

Practical information

A road leads to the castle straight from the village; Slovenská Ľupča lies on the route from Banská Bystrica up the Hron valley. The lower castle is self-guided (about 30 minutes); the upper castle can be visited only with a guide (about 60 minutes). From March to June and from September to November the castle is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–15:00; on weekdays only the lower castle is open, while guided upper-castle tours run on the hour at weekends and on holidays. In July and August it is open 10:00–16:00 with tours every half hour (last at 15:30). It is closed from December to February and on Mondays.

A lower-castle ticket costs €4 for adults and €2 for children 6–19, students and seniors; a guided upper and lower castle tour is €8 and €6; family tickets are €9 and €20. Children under 6 enter free. Dogs are not allowed in the castle grounds. The castle hosts concerts, night tours and themed exhibitions – check the programme on the official website.

Nearby

From Banská Bystrica it is not far to the Harmanec Cave, and up the Hron valley lies the Bystrá Cave. In the Horehronie region, take a ride on the Čierny Hron forest railway and visit the Vydrovo forestry open-air museum.

Official website: hradlupca.sk

Photos: 10ricardo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Patrik Kunec, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Juloml, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Punteador, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Patrik Kunec (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.