Slight remnants of the walls of a defunct castle on a hill above the village of Dlžín in the marginal position of the Rudnianska basin, at the junction with the Strážovské vrchy
The castle was once surrounded by stone walls and had an approximately elliptical floor plan. The remains of these walls are partially visible even today. From the northern side of the castle, there is a massive neck ditch and from the west and south an outer rampart. Natural protection from the east was provided by a moat leading into a steep slope with rocky slopes.Only minimal above-ground remains of the perimeter walls of the castle have been preserved, but nothing has been preserved from the internal buildings. According to J. Nešpor, it is assumed that the castle had an eccentrically situated tower, which rested on a small rocky ridge above the eastern slope. A smaller plateau in the north behind the moat could serve as a farm buildings place.
- Source: NEŠPOR J.
- Za tajomstvami zrúcanín II. Zrúcaniny Stredného Slovenska
No written records have been preserved about the castle near Dlžín. Apparently it was a guard castle, which guarded the road to Bojnice. It was probably built on the site of an older Greater Moravian fortification, the remnant of which may be a rampart. Based on surveys and finds, historians date life on the castle to the 12th to 13th centuries, while the upper limit could be the 13th century, when all important legal requirements were already recorded in writing in Hungary. Sometime during this time, the castle ceased to function and started.
Already in 1210, according to documents, Blažej z Diviak (Blasii de Diweg), an ancestor of the Diviack family, lived in the Rudnian basin. His grandchildren Akur and Folkmar became important landowners separated by the river Nitrica. The lands on the right bank belonged to the Akura branch and the lands on the left bank (including Dlžín) belonged to the Folkmar branch. After the division of property, the old family castle above Dlžín probably became the seat of power of Folkmar's heirs in this area. In 1275 the property was again divided, this time the property was shared by Folkmar's sons Kozma and Bán. However, the church in Kostolná Ves and the castle continued to serve both brothers.
In 1295, the property of the Diviack family came to the immediate vicinity of Matúš Čák, who acquired the Uhrovec castle with the entire estate. At the end of 1298, Bán's sons Barlev and Jaroslav, as well as Štefan, the son of Štefan from Akur's branch of the family, got into a heated dispute at Trenčín Castle. Stefan accused his cousins of infidelity to the lord. Matúš Čák ordered the crumbs to be decided by a duel in his yard, but Barlev and Jaroslav did not agree and left the castle.
However, they did not avoid Matthew's anger, as evidenced by the complaint of both brothers. Matúš Čák expelled them from the property and eventually destroyed the unnamed castle. In all probability, it was the castle above Dlžín. However, some historians believe that this castle was Vyšehrad on the border of Upper Nitra and Turc, but the document of the Nitra Chapter from 1302, which concerns the complaint of Barlev and Jaroslav against Matúš Čák, explicitly mentions a stone castle (castrum ipsorum lapideum). However, it is known from archaeological research that Vyšehrad was the so-called a timber-framed castle, while there were obviously stone structures on the castle near Dlžín.
In 1332, the heirs of Kozma and the descendants of his nephews Barlev and Jaroslav redistributed the property. When describing the area of the village of Dolná Banka (today's part of the village of Banka), the road coming from below the castle (via, quae veniet de sub castro) is mentioned west of Šútovce. This passage without naming the castle is usually interpreted as a path coming from Bojnice. But in 1332, the village of Šútovce lay between the border landmark and Bojnice. From it, the castle at Dlžín is only 1.5 km as the crow flies to the northwest. This may mean that the wording of the path coming from below the castle must be understood in relation to this location. The castle, the only one in the area, was the property of the Diviack family and therefore it was not necessary to name it further. If we admit that the victim of Matúš Čák's criminal expedition against the stone castle of Barlev and Jaroslav at the end of the 13th century was the same castle, the data from 1332 can only be a living memory of the vanishing fortification. However, these are all hypotheses that could be confirmed or refuted by more extensive archaeological research.
There are no myths available.
The location is freely accessible