The castle area is an oval, bounded by a perimeter wall and an inner moat, oriented approximately north-south, with dimensions of approximately 95 m and 55 m. In the central part of the complex there is a rectangular stone core of the castle with dimensions of about 40 and 16 m. Only one fragment of the southern wall of the tower, about 2.3 m high, was preserved from the masonry. Other walls are extinct.The outer mounds and ditch are well preserved. The tank in the middle of the courtyard, which is currently about one meter deep, is well visible. According to the remnants of the masonry, terrain tracks and partial archaeological research from 2005 it can be assumed that in the southern part there was a prismatic tower whose dimensions can only be estimated at 8 x 8 m, while the masonry thickness was at least 1.8 m.

It is believed that Black Castle served to protect the gold-washing places in the nearby streams. In addition, it was important in the control and protection of the mountain road that leads from the village of Velčice to Solčiany. Almost no records of the history of the castle have been preserved. It was not until 2005, 2007 and 2009 that the first archaeological excavations were carried out at the castle, which helped to more accurately date the castle's existence and disposition. Based on these researches, it is assumed that it was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, while the village of Zlatno was founded in 1156. Historian Ján Lukačka assumes that the builders of the castle were ancestors Báša (Baas), who lived at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. 14th century. So far, it has not been possible to prove that the castle was still modernized at that time or that reconstructions were carried out. An exception is the eastern wall, which was originally thinner and was later completed to a thickness of 1.8 m. Based on this fact, as well as on the dating of the find material from archaeological research, its relatively short existence and extinction can be assumed somewhere at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.

It is possible that the demise of the castle is related to Forgách family, who at the end of the 14th century had go through a property expansion and acquire the village of Zlatno, and thus the Black Castle. The only written mention of this castle from 1516 has been preserved - a document from which it follows that Peter and Mikuláš Forgách were granted by King Ľudovít II. the right to mine gold on their Fekethewar estate. However, the manor was probably supposed to be just property and not the castle itself. In 1516, the castle no longer had its function. Some findings suggest that the castle may have been restored during the 16th century, but so far it is only speculation. In the past, the castle belonged to Tekovská stolica, while it was located on its western border.

There are no myths available.

The ruin is freely accessible

https://www.hrady-zamky.sk/cierny-hrad/