Despite being a ruin, the castle is impressive. It is surrounded by the Litava River from three sides. The Rondel Association is in charge of preserving the castle and cleaning its surroundings. Thanks to them, we do not have to worry about the high occurrence of snakes and wild jungle in the castle.The upper castle was once a tower, a large courtyard with palace buildings and farm buildings. The entrance to the upper castle was from the north side through the gate probably with a drawbridge. Bastions, which formed a system of peripheral fortifications, were located on the western side. On the east side was a residential building, in the southwest gate with a bastion and in the south entrance gate with a tower and a forward gate with loopholes and drawbridge. Remains of external fortifications and parts of structures and perimeter walls of residential buildings have been preserved.

The castle is ingeniously situated on a place that flows around the river Litava from three sides. The castle directly controlled the road connection that passed to the castle from Šahy, bifurcated at Bzovík and continued to Krupina, and to Banská Štiavnica. History is silent about the origin of the castle, but many historians associate two castles with the beginnings of Čabraď Castle, for which the springs used partly the same names. The older castle called Litava (Lithuania), about 3 km to the SE of Čabraď Castle, disappeared in about 1320. Thanks to partly the same name, the history of these two castles is often mistaken.

During the existence of the already launched old castle called Litava, a new castle Litava was built near it, since the late Middle Ages also called Čabraď. Its origins date back to 1342. The castle then fell under the royal administration - Karl Robert. At the beginning of Sigismund's reign, Luxembourg Castle often changed owners. In previous years, the Hungarian Queen Mary gave the castle in advance to Master Frank of Sečany. In 1387, however, King Sigismund took the castle from Frank and granted him the castle of Šášov as a replacement. In 1390, Sigismund donated the castle to his court Leustach of Jelšava. He immediately exchanged it with Ján z Pásztó (in Hevešská stolica) and Ladislav Kakaš for Sivý Kameň Castle located in Horná Nitra. During the division of property in 1394, the castle belonged to Ladislav. Since this period, members of the Kakašov family, originally from the village of Kaza in Boršodská stolica, have become the sole owners of Litava Castle. In addition to the name Litava, the springs in 1394 also use the designation Pustá Litava (Puztalithwa). Since the documents already mention only one castle and we meet with the connection Pustá Litava even later, it is possible to consider transferring the name of the older abandoned castle Hrádok-Litava to the newer castle Litava-Čabraď. The attribute desolate could also describe the state in which the castle was after frequent changes of owners.

In 1415, King Sigismund donated the castle and property to Július (called Ďula) and Loranda, the son of Ladislav Kakaš. The castle was later controlled by the troops of Ján Jiskra and in 1461 the castle was besieged by the royal army. Around 1460, the Horváth family acquired the castle. In 1469 King Matej assigned the castle to Damián Horváth. After Damian's death in 1476, the manor was divided by his brother Peter Horváth and his widow Fružina (Euphrosine). In 1511, the then owner of the Urban Fánchy castle sold Čabraď and the whole estate to Archbishop Tomáš Bakócz. The castle was rebuilt under his ownership and fortified by a fort. According to the will of the archbishop, his relatives Erdődy became the owners of the castle. In 1547 the castle was occupied by Melchior Balassa. Čabraď got Peter Pálffy back two years later. The castle, together with other fortresses from the robber knights, was conquered by the commander of the royal army, Mikuláš Salm. After 1558, the castle in the possession of Ján Krušič, later strengthened by a modern external fortification with artillery bastions, withstood all the onslaught of Ottoman troops.

After the death of Ján Krušič, his widow Katarína Pálffy married Štefan Illésházy, who in 1582 became the new owner of the Čabrad and Sitno estates. A more permanent change in ownership relations occurred in 1622. King Ferdinand II. he then agreed to buy both estates from the then owner Barbora Balassa from the sub-captain of Nové Zámky, Peter Koháry. The new owner did not accept the Turkish presence on the Čabraď estate. He prevented the Turks from collecting taxes and punished the municipalities that submitted to them. In the years 1629 - 1632, he repeatedly came into conflict with the Ottoman governors in Esztergom. The castles and manors were then inherited by Peter's son Štefan Koháry. Koháry's life was ended by injuries sustained in the battle of Levice in 1664. His relatives buried him at Čabraď Castle. Later, the body was transported to the family tomb in Hronský Beňadik. Later, during the estate uprisings, Čabraď was repeatedly occupied by insurgents led by František Rákóczi. It was not until 1709 that the Koháry family regained the castle, after the suppression of the uprising. After the conditions calmed down, the castle gradually lost its original function. In the years 1744 - 1755, Ondrej Koháry had a modern manor house built in Svätý Anton, where he also transferred the administration of family property.

The maintenance-intensive castle was finally set on fire by František Koháry in 1812. As he died without male descendants, the connection of the Koháry family with the history of Čabrad also ends in this period. Prince Ferdinand Coburg became the owner of the manor through his marriage to František Koháry's daughter Mária Antónia. Even after the castle became inoperable, the Čabraďské manor formed a single unit, managed by the landowner. Despite the devastating fire, the castle did not completely start even after several decades. However, the castle fell into oblivion for many years. In the 90s of the 20th century, the conservation of the first courtyard took place. Since 2000, there has been a civic association for the rescue of the Čabraď castle - the Rondel Association, which in cooperation with the Čabradský Vrbovok municipality gradually cleans the castle of raid vegetation, focuses castle buildings, promotes the castle to the public and is dedicated to its conservation.

The legend of the castle

When the aging field marshal Štefan Kohári withdrew into the privacy of his birthplace in 1709 and exchanged the saber for a pen, Čabraď became the seat of the poet's lyrical muses, who wrote more than 2,000 verses here at the end of his life.

Rumor of a donkey and an observer

Life was cheerful at Čabrad Castle. Everything was abundant. Every day the castellan played with its halls. Merry songs were still heard in the chateau and lush dances roared ... The Čabrad castellan had everything that his eyes demanded in abundance. The people feared him and were humbly subject to him, also because the castellan was fierce, unyielding. He was an avid hunter, so he cared a lot about always knowing the weather in advance. And here was what he didn't have ... He didn't have a reliable observer who could predict the weather with confidence.

I figured she'd find him whatever it was. He set out to search hard, but even though there were still enough learned people, he was unable to find an educated observer. He began to regret the thing, but he didn't want to let go. He sent his people around a wide-distant region to find him and bring him to the castle a sought-after scholar. But his people were returning alone. They found no star. Not him and not! Kastelán was furious. - And I have to have an observer anyway! - he shouted in a powerful voice and sent his servants back to the world. - Where you can get it, you can get it from there, but you have to bring it to my castle.

But the attempts failed ... That's why the servants gathered for a meeting and wondered how to appear before a relentless castellan without a star. Well, they didn't invent anything reasonable. And they were about to break up when the oldest and most experienced of them hit their foreheads and said: For a long time he was also a gelding, who knows the stars. He looked at them enough over the long nights! He was also a soldier, he marched the world! He knows a few words and is otherwise clever, wise and cunning! Let's go to him and make him an observer!

The servants of the wolves and the slaves agreed to a saving but at the same time dangerous proposal, and turned to Philip. Philip immediately liked the idea, but he was still afraid that the lie would come to light and the matter would not end sadly, because he knew that the castellan was fleeing and relentless. But when the servants assured him and swore an oath to him not to tell anyone a word about the whole thing, he landed. The lord of the castle was cheering and in honor of the found starmaker he organized a great feast that day, which lasted for several days. Philip began to live well. He became a lord at the castle, whose orders everyone had to obey. Read more...

He was hasty and almost forgot that he had only recently grazed sheep. He didn't even talk to the servants. Even for those who made him a great master, he had only a contemptuous smile. It went badly to the servants and I would like to somehow take revenge on him. But how? ... For when they betray him, they also reveal themselves, and they cast the wrath of the castellan only on themselves! They had to be silent and endure the tyranny of the inflated fake star, who in the meantime was already fully versed in his craft. Kastelán respected him, and there was nothing he could not discuss with him at first. Once before the hunt, he went to Philip to discuss the weather. Filip was just asleep after a wasted night, but he really didn't want to get up and go and see what the weather would be like. I mumbled that hey, the weather would be great that he could go hunting. Then he turned to the other side and snored stiffly. Satisfied with the answer, Kastelán set out with his retinue into the mountain without thinking. He had a very good will, and when he saw a servant in front of the castle, who was tormented by the donkey, because he did not want to pull his cart, he shouted at him: - Hey! "But, that's always the way it is with him when a storm is coming," the servant replied meekly. Kastelán laughed. - What? A storm? ... Ha-ha-ha ... - I believe so, - said the servant. - When the donkey has its ears fully lowered, it is certain that a storm will come. But the castellan did not want to believe that an ordinary donkey was better acquainted with the weather than his experienced starter. "Well," he said jokingly, - if there's a storm today, wait for me here and I'll trade your donkey for one he knows in Latin. The servant did not understand what the master meant, but he bowed deeply and waited. As soon as the castellan went to the edge of the mountain, the sky clouded, thunder shook, and a terrible downpour began. The party scattered in all directions. Kastelán was left alone. The rain was pouring in and the thunder was beating wildly ... To top it all off, the castellan's horse broke his leg, so the castellan had to walk to the castle.

He finally got home half dead. The servants were already shaking with fear of his anger. But - wonder-savage! - the castellan did not stumble or curse, he just summoned a servant to whom he had ordered to wait with the donkey in front of the castle. The servant came scared and looked at the stern master incomprehensibly. - Do you know what I promised you before the storm? - the castellan asked him. The servant just looked and watched. How was he supposed to know when he didn't understand a word from the gentleman's speech? - Cut the donkey! - the castellan ordered. - From now on, he will graze here under the castle. But in order not to blame you, my learned observer will pull your cart ...! And so it happened. He had Philip dragged into a cart, and made a donkey out of an ass. From that time on, the donkey at Čabrad Castle foretold the weather and - as the legend says - the lord was always satisfied with the divination. But Filip did not last long in his new craft, he ran away the next day ... And since then there has been no rumors about him...

The ruin is freely accessible

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