The ruins of a castle from the 13th century standing on the hill of the Beskydy foothills in the suburb of Mernícka pahorkatina, above the village of Sedliská - Podčičva
The core of the castle is an extended wedge of a corner with a circular tower. On the opposite side of the courtyard are the remains of the palace and the walls of the remains of probably farm and operational buildings. From the northeast, the core was protected by a bastion with a rounded end and from the east it is now a ruin of a massive bastion with cannons.The castle was additionally extended by an farm bailey, which was protected by a circular bastion and its front was closed by a fortress. From the outside, the system was protected by trenches and ramparts, which is still visible in the field to this day.
- 1 - upper castle
- 2 - round tower with wedge
- 3 - palaces
- 4 - cannon bastion
- 5 - bastion
- 6 - fort
- 7 - round bastion
- 8 - front bastion of the fort
When in 1270, Stephen V. ascended the Hungarian throne and donated several estates, including the property of Čičva, to the nobleman Reynold, ancestor of the Rozgonyi family, for his faithful services and merits proved on the expeditions of the royal army. The castle was built between 1309 and 1316 and was probably built by Reynold's sons. The first written mention of the castle of the same name dates from 1316. It is a document by which Master Peter, probably Reynold's grandson, rewarded Mikuláš Peres, a castellan at Čičva Castle, with the property of Tuzsér for the successful defense of the castle. Apparently, it was a repulse of the attack of Petr Petény, a Zemplín participant in the uprising against the king, in which the castellan Nicholas lost his left hand and his brother Štefan and three other members of the castle garrison lost their lives.
The Rozgonyi family died out in 1523 With Štefan's sword and the castle, with the consent of the king, he acquired the husband of Štefan's daughter Katarína, the mayor of Satumar, and Andrej Báthory, a banana from Belgrade. In 1527, however, Ján Zápoľský conquered and set it on fire. However, the Báthory family repaired and renovated the castle again.
In 1575, František Nádašdy's wedding to Alžbeta Báthora took place in nearby Vranov nad Topľou. Čičva Castle was also a part of the bride's vein. In 1610, Elizabeth's daughter Katarína, who married Juraj III, got him into the vein. Drugetha from Humenné. This put the castle in the hands of the Drugeths, who contributed to its greatest expansion. Under the Drugeth family, the archive of the Zemplín capital was also stored here. In the 1760s, Jurajov's great-grandson Sigismund inherited the castle. When the anti-Habsburg uprising broke out, he opposed the uprising, but in 1684 the castle was still conquered by Thököly's troops. In 1704, the troops of Francis II seized it. Rákóczi. They repaired the damaged parts and secured the castle. It was in the hands of the insurgents until 1711, when Commander Count František Barkóczy joined the side of the imperial troops and gave them a castle, which was demolished by Imperial General Laucken.
Since then, the castle is in ruins. Since 2014, the castle has been taken care of by the civic association PRO FUTURO of Čičva Castle.
Book of lies
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the castle housed the so-called A book of lies and liars, which was known throughout Slovakia as the "Čičavská kniha". Along with the names of liars, all possible and impossible lies and untruths were written into it. The remnant of this book is said to be the annual scare at the castle now. All the liars and liars who got into the book come together for a meeting. According to this book, a well-known Slovak wording also arose: This too should be recorded in the Čičava book.
The ruin is freely accessible. The castle is undergoing reconstruction.