The ruins of the castle on the rocky hump of the side ridge of Považský Inovec, in the cadastre of the village of Hrádok, near Nové Mesto nad Váhom
On the south side, the castle forms the torso of a high prismatic tower behind a mass of walls. The walls belong to the bastion from the beginning of the 17th century, while the massive tower (9x9 m) belongs to the medieval castle, but it is not its oldest part. This was a smaller tower at the extended end of the approximately pentagonal layout enclosed by a wall that belonged to the original castle from the middle of the 13th century. The area in front of the castle on the north side, on which there is a fort, served as an economically used forecourt. The wall with several pentagonal and sharp bastions has two rows of shooting ranges. Due to the steep slopes, it was not very possible to dig ditches, which were not even necessary due to inaccessibility, but some securing by ramparts or ditches nevertheless occurred, as evidenced by the terrain steps on the northern ridge.It is clearly possible to specify the large palace in the north. There was a kitchen next to the courtyard gate. In addition, there was a chapel, a hall, a dining room and a vaulted room. There was also a stable on the ground floor and living rooms on the first floor. The front of the castle was secured by a bastion and therefore the large tower did not have to be used for defense and grain was stored in it, or it served as an armory.
- 1 - main tower
- 2 - inner castle
- 3 - collapsed gothic wall
- 4 - towered entrance gate
- 5 - original gothic palace
- 6 - gothic defensive tower
- 7 - extended palace part
- 8 - first forecourt
- 9 - bastion
- 10 - defensive bastions
- 11 - fortification
- 12 - second defense
Tematín Castle was probably built in 1242 on the site of an older fortified settlement. From the beginning, it served as a guard and was part of the protection of the northwestern passes of Hungary. The first written mention of the castle dates from 1270, when the effort of Bela IV is mentioned. to conquer the castle, but the then owner of the castle, Michal, son of Ondrej, repulsed his attack.
After Michal's death, the castle became a royal property, but at the beginning of the 14th century it was acquired by Matúš Čák Trenčiansky, who ruled Považie until his death in 1321. Then the castle passed into the hands of Karol Róbert. In the second half of the 14th century, the castle lost its original strategic importance and passed into private hands.
During the reign of Louis I, the castle fell into the hands of Vavrinec Tóth. His son Mikuláš Kont, a Hungarian palatine from 1352, acquired the castle from Vavrinec in 1348 and was basically the founder of the Ujlaky family. After his death in 1367, the property was managed not only by his wife Klára and his son Mikuláš, but also by the sons of his brother Bartholomew Ladislav and Imrich. After Klára's death, the castle and the Tematín estate were owned by members of the Ujlaky family until their extinction in 1521. The castle then fell into royal hands.
During the Turkish danger, King Louis II sold. castle in 1524 to Alexei Thurzo. After his death, after many years of disputes, the castle was acquired by Stanislav Thurzo, who fortified the castle at that time and two new bastions were added. After the extinction of Stanislav's family branch in 1636, the property fell to the royal chamber. At the end of the 17th century, the castle belonged to the Bercsényi family. In 1665, the last owner of the castle was born to Mikuláš Bercsényi, who was his second most important representative during the Rákóczi uprising. Due to the insurgents and Bercsényi in 1710, the imperial army under General Heister began the siege of the castle. The castle was destroyed and has been in ruins ever since. However, Bercsényi could not be captured, he died in 1725 in Ottoman exile.
Since 2007, the castle has been taken care of by OZ Tematín.
The story of the elusive Nicholas Bercsényi
As the Rákóczi uprising drew to a close, the imperial troops aimed to arrest the commander-in-chief of the uprising, Mikuláš Bercsényi, and occupy Tematín Castle. However, he wished Bercsényi good luck because he resembled the captain of his crew. Thus a plan was created to change people and the owner of the castle escaped at night disguised as a shepherd through the forests of Považský Inovec to the north. When Imperial General Heister launched a cannonade from the works, the defenders surrendered and the general arrested the captain of the crew, believing that they had Bercsényi. Mikuláš Bercsényi was long gone until they found out they had the wrong person.
The ruin is freely accessible, symbolic entrance fee.More information