The oldest parts of the castle are part of a two-space palace block on the eastern side of the inner castle courtyard.The castle is divided into two main parts: lower castle and middle castle. The middle castle is separated from the lower castle by a significantly dry deep moat, which increased the natural height of the fortification of the middle castle. The entrance to the middle castle was originally in the corner (opposite the monument). Even where the ground is aligned (where there is no ditch - it was, but the ground was covered by the fall of the upper and middle castle), the attackers had to overcome the 80 m ditch under the direct fire of the castle defenders.The middle castle is functionally divided into 2 parts: the northern courtyard and the residential palace. From the courtyard, the staircase led to the atrium courtyard and the individual rooms. There were 40 rooms - 15 on the ground floor, 20 on the first floor and 5 on the second floor. There was a well in the western courtyard of the lower castle. The older well was also in the courtyard of the middle castle (near the only accessible room).The memorial on the western plateau was built in 1939 and reminds the suffering of imprisoned Protestant priests.

Branč Castle is one of the oldest castles in Záhorie. According to the findings of coins from 1251 - 1261, probably during this period, the castle was built by Master Aba of Hlohovec. In 1297, the Abovci family exchanged the manor with the stone castle Branč for other property to the master Abraham Rúfus, and in 1309 Matúš Čák Trenčiansky forced him to leave the castle manor to him. After Matúš's death, the castle was owned for some time by his relative, Štefan of Šternberk. For a short time, the castle was also owned by King Karol Róbert, the Czech King Ján Luxemburg, and in 1394 by Sigismund of Luxembourg. Then Sigismund donated the castle to Stibor of Stiborice. After this year, the reconstruction of the middle castle dates back. The result was a typically Gothic rock castle with an attack tower, palace, chapel and in the southeast corner of the middle castle with a high wall perimeter wall.

Around 1453, the castle was seized by the famous thug and warrior Pongrácz from Sv. Mikuláš, who used the castle as his base for raidings on Moravia and Austria. At the beginning of the 16th century, Mr. Osvald, the owner of the nearby Korlátka castle, acquired a share in the manor, while the second part belonged to Euprosine Pongráczová, married to Bernard Nyári. After the battle of the Hungarian troops with the Ottomans near Mohács in 1526, František Nyári, the son of Eufrozína, moved to his mother's estate and by marrying Osvald's granddaughter Alžbeta, he also acquired part of his estate. In 1551, František Nyári died childless and bequeathed his property to relatives. The last members of the Nyári family also lived here with the whole family, who built a new manor house in Sobotišťe and gradually moved there.

The next Thököly uprising was a harbinger of the demise of the castle, which was fought for in 1683. Branč Castle was managed only by the castellan. The castle was a temporary prison for Protestant priests who were sentenced to galleys. They died in the so-called pits - prison around the perimeter of the wall. A memorial in the courtyard commemorates this event. At the beginning of the 18th century, the desolate buildings of the castle were intentionally damaged by the former owners and the defensive equipment also failed. The castle was no longer inhabited and was abandoned.

In 1968, a monumental restoration of the castle was carried out, but it was not completed. Archaeological research has been carried out on the castle since 1978.

The rumor says

When Branč was ruled by Mr. Pongrácz, he beat him forever on the neighboring estates. What he stole, he sold in a meadow under the castle as a fair.

Death of a robber knight

The robber knight Pongrácz seized the castle by force and had the former owners murdered. One evening, he let his guard go to the surrounding villages for fun, and he himself proudly walked around the quiet castle. Here he saw a deflected door to the basement. He came in and started down the hall, which seemed to have no end. Suddenly there was a piercing whistle in front of him and something black flew straight into his face. He felt a shock, a burning pain, and darkness in his eyes. He blindly waved his dagger in a convulsion, and the next day he was found stuck on his face and with a dagger deep in his chest. God's justice has found him. The robber knight may have killed himself, with only the soulless body of a large bat.

Black lady

Once upon a time, the castle lord lived here with a beautiful but very picky daughter. She found a mistake on each questioner. The father was patient and cursed the daughter. Since then, she has wandered around the castle at night like a black lady looking for someone to knock her out. The condition is that the person concerned must not be frightened. For example, she once snatched a shepherd and after three nights appeared to him in various forms. The first night the shepherd of the giant toad was not frightened, but the second night he escaped from the monster snake. On the third night, the girl told him that he was not a hero who deserved the castle's treasures. The black lady is still looking for a daredevil who would not take his legs on his shoulders for fear of her transformation.

Opening hours and admission

https://www.podbranc.sk/p/10088/poplatky-hrad-branc.html

https://www.hrady-zamky.sk/branc/