Biely Kameň
castle ruin
290m
Svätý Jur, Bratislava county

The ruins of a gothic castle on the wooded rocky hill of the Little Carpathians, situated above the local part of the town of Svätý Jur, called Neštich

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Previous names
Jurský hrad, Neštyšský hrad, Castrum de sancto Georgio
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How to get there
10 min
+73m/0m
The ruins of Biely Kameň are located in the forest above the town of Svätý Jur near Bratislava - Neštich. Whether we come to Svätý Jur from Bratislava (from the part of Rača) or from Pezinok, we get to the town of Svätý Jur along the main road, which is already called the Krajinská Road directly in the town. From the main road at the traffic light, we turn onto Prostredná Street, after which we always go straight and then across a narrow cobbled one-way road to the roundabout.After the roundabout, we continue straight across Horné Predmestie to a street called Podhradie. On the left side we pass the parking lot. We can park here, but if we want to shorten the path, we continue straight on until we come to a narrow, lower-quality path built by houses. We do not get out of the way until on the left side, just in front of the inn, we see an inconspicuous asphalt turn to the left, where there is also a wooden cross. Somewhere before this turn, along the road, or even lower in the village, we can park the car. We continue on foot, the path along the cross (yellow TZT) through the forest will lead us to the ruins.
Description

The walls are now in ruins and the stones were also undoubtedly used as construction material in a wide area. The relief of intricately arranged ramparts and ditches, remains and fragments of the masonry of the five-sided castle core and the ring of the outer walled corral were well preserved. The upper castle was characterized by a consistent peripheral development, after which only significant ridges remained. The inner castle, protected by fortifications of irregular oval shape, had only one gate on the northeast side, above which was a bastion, popularly called "erkel". The access road led along the bridge over the moat.In addition to the tower with a gate, there were two other towers in the outdoor area. Around the outer wall, on its inside were farm buildings, of which only the baker is mentioned. The upper castle and the entire lower part had a number of chambers, which indicate that the castle had to wave considerable supplies. Of these buildings, only the remains in the form of a cellar or parts of the perimeter walls are now preserved above the terrain. The castle has been preserved in a state of advanced disintegration, which does not allow to get more detailed information about its original form and development.

Plan
Legend to the ground plan:1 - upper castle, 2 - basement vaulted space, 3 - lower castle, 4 - entrance tower, 5 - moat, 6 - bridge pillar, 7 - advanced guardhouse
Legend to the ground plan
  • 1 - upper castle
  • 2 - basement vaulted space
  • 3 - lower castle
  • 4 - entrance tower
  • 5 - moat
  • 6 - bridge pillar
  • 7 - advanced guardhouse
History

Biely Kameň Castle above Svätý Jur as a fortified seat replaced the older fortified settlement situated on the opposite side of the valley. This fortified settlement was established in the 9th century and continued to function in the following period. In 1209, the territory of Svätý Jur was acquired by the Hont-Pázmány family, who chose the original fortress above the Neštich fort as their seat. The stone castle was built by the counts of Svätý Jur and Pezinok after 1241, shortly after the Tatar looting, when Belo IV. order to build stone castles. The newly built castle is first mentioned in 1271 in connection with the raids of the Czech king Přemysl Otakar II. to the Hungarian border, and then in 1295. After the death of Count Juraj Svätojurský, the castle was confiscated in favor of the king. The rebel's sons, Sigismund, Christopher and Peter, reconciled with the king, who gave it to Peter for his services. Peter died in 1516. The castle belonged to the Svätojurský family until the extinction of the family in 1543, when the last male member of the family - Krištof - died. The castle then changed owners several times.

Until 1550, the castle was the property of Gašpar Serédy, who died that year. In 1566, the castle became the property of Count Menberg, the mayor of Bratislava. After him, Count Mikuláš Eck of Salmi received him in the royal donation, who also gave him and his property as an advance to the Imperial Duke Count Ján Krusith (Krušič), for 132 thousand tolars. After his death, his widow Katarína married Štefan Illésházy. It was at the request of her late husband. In 1598, the patrician of the town of Svätý Jur appeared before Emperor Rudolf II. with a request not to renew the lease of their reserve master Štefan Illésházy. They wanted to pay the amount themselves. The monarch accepted the proposal. Illésházy defended himself, but after falling into the emperor's disfavor and losing all his property, he had to flee to Poland. Biely Kameň Castle, with all its powers, was handed over to the Board of Directors of St. George for use by the Imperial Commission. After Illésházy made a significant contribution to the election of Matthew II as king, the recent exile became the main royal court. His property and the advances of St. George were returned to him. The landowner expelled Juranov from the castle. They didn't resist too much, because the vineyards remained. Finally, the privileged deed of Ferdinand II. from r. 1647 Saint Jur was promoted to a free royal town and thus freed from dependence on the castle. The city had to pay the monarch 400 shackles of good and selected wine a year (1 shackle = 56l, 400 shackles = 22,400 l). However, he had already ruled the castle at that time since 1626 Štefan Pálffy, who took over the property together with the title of count in the eternal ownership of the family. After moving them to the manor house in today's Svätý Jur, the castle gradually lost its function. It was probably destroyed during the Turkish invasion in 1663 and there were no reasons to restore it. It has been a ruin ever since.

History images
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Myths and legends

There are no myths available.

Useful information

The ruins are freely accessible

Nearby castles