Fort Leopoldov lies in the same named town on the southern tip of Považský Inovec. It serves as a prison for many years
The fortress is built in the Renaissance style, occupies an area of 56 ha. It was built at that time according to the latest military defense technology. The model for forts in Nové Zámky and Leopoldov was the Palmanova fortress in Italy. Leopoldov anti-Turkish fortress has a star shape, consists of six circularly placed five bastions connected by ravelins. It was surrounded by a moat. The eastern canal still exists and is used for waste water.The street network was staggered. Six extruded bastions formed small forts, on both sides were placed firing guns for cannons, which shot at the enemy in the crossfire.The fort has two gates: east of Hlohovec and west of the village Leopoldov. The entrance to the fort consisted of draw-bridges that closed at night and in times of danger. The walls are made of stone, the foundations of the fortress and the corner of the bastions of large stone blocks. The walls are inclined. The height is approx. 10m, width 25m and bastion thickness up to 50m. The inner diameter between the gates is 320m and the transverse distance from the corner of one bastion to the corner of the other bastion is 600m. In such a small space was built a powerful fortress, which no enemy attacked.
The founding of the Leopoldov Fortress dates back to the second half of the 17th century, which in Europe was marked by Turkish wars and counter-Reformation. It was built in the years 1665 - 1669 after the fall of the fortress in Nové Zámky, conquered during the offensive of the Ottoman Empire. The fortress was handed over to its purpose in 1669. Above the west gate, it is announced by an inscription in large metal letters: L.I.D.G.R.I.S.A.A.A.H.B.R. - 1669. These are the initials of the Latin text: Leopoldus I, Dei Gratia Romanorum Imperator, Semper Augustus Archidux Austriae, Hungeriae, Bohemiseque Rex. - Anno 1669. In translation: Leopold the first, by the grace of God a Roman emperor, always noble, Austrian archduke, Hungarian and Czech king. Year 1669.
The fortress was named in honor of Emperor Leopold I. After five years of construction (1665 - 1669), however, the fortress, which at the time was the most modern and dreaded castle in Central Europe, did not intervene in the fighting with the Turks. However, it found its justification during the anti-Habsburg struggles. She was not threatened by a single siege or a direct blow. The fortress was the strongest fortress of the Habsburg power. In 1668 the Leopoldov fortress withstood Thököly the Kurucs, in 1706 it resisted the uprising of František Rákóczi. During the reign of Maria Theresa, it served as a storehouse and warehouse for the army, and in 1783 it was visited by Emperor Joseph II, who decided to place military veterans from Buda in it.
In 1848, the fortress was acquired by the Hungarian insurgents, but on February 2, 1849, Colonel Ordóda surrendered to the commander of the imperial troops, General Šimunič. Later in 1855, after the loss of military significance, the fortress was rebuilt into a prison on the basis of Bach's decree, although even in an earlier period it served as a prison, when in the period of the Counter-Reformation , among them also Rector Ján Simonides and priest Tobiáš Masník. There is a consensus that Leopoldov, especially in the 1950s, together with concentration and labor camps alongside uranium mines, was the worst of the prison facilities in communist Czechoslovakia and is often referred to as the liquidation facility. During the communist regime, casemates, a church, factories and administrative buildings were destroyed due to the escapes of prisoners.
The fortress was declared a national cultural monument on September 17, 1963. It currently continues to serve as a prison.
There are no myths available.
There is a prison in the fort. Entry is of course not possible. Beware of photography, do not try without the special permission of the prison director.