The castle ruin is compositionally tightly connected with the limestone bedrock, stone masonry and remains of the former walls of palaces, farm buildings and bastions grow from the rugged bedrock. The Renaissance twin bracket, key loophole and side lining are some of the few preserved architectural elements.The remains of the walls and the side prism tower have been preserved from the fortress, which formed the original castle. Later, the castle was extended with a barracks with farm buildings and a tank. At the turn of the 15th-16th century, they built a massive fortress and, at the time of the Turkish invasions, another bailey with a circular bastion.

The origins of Ostrý Kameň Castle are not exactly known, but they were probably built in the 13th century. As one of the border castles, its task was to protect a long-distance trade route leading from Buda through western Slovakia through a pass to the Czech lands, which is generally known as the so-called Czech way. Initially, the castle was a royal property, but already in 1366 the king donated the castle to Mikuláš of Seč, which put him in private possession of Hungarian feudal families. In 1394 King Sigismund donated the castle to the famous Duke Stibor of Stiborice. After the death of his son Stibor II. in 1434 the castle returned to royal hands for a while. Since 1453, several holders from the ranks of the nobility have changed. For a time it belonged to the Keglevich family, the Thurz family, the Forgách family and from the 15th century also to the counts of Svätý Jur and Pezinok.

In 1496 it was acquired by Imrich and Martin Czoborovci together with the feudal estate that belonged to it, but from 1507 only Martin remained at the castle, while Imrich left for Holíč. From 1535 the castle was owned by Imrich's son, Gašpar Czobor. After his unexpected death in 1539, he was left with debts and left his wife here with five dependent sons. His debts have been the subject of a long-running dispute over Czoborov property. Brothers Peter and Pavol Bakičovci and the magnate Révay family applied for them as creditors. The disputes ended with the direct intervention of the monarch in 1554, when the Czoborovs, Bakič family and Révay divided the property among themselves. In 1579 Rudolf II. he released the manor from the deposit, the property continued to be fragmented. The property, which was confiscated by the rebel Imrich Thököly, was given to Count Krištof Erdődy in 1689.

In 1704, a large battle of Kuruk took place in the vicinity of the castle, during which the castle was probably also damaged. 3 years later the castle was occupied by the Imperial General Starhemberg. At that time, the Czech road already led through Bratislava and the castle lost its function. At the end of the 18th century, the castle and the manor were inherited by the Pálffy family, who transferred the seat of the manor from the castle to the town of Moravský Svätý Ján. Since then, the castle was deserted and only ruins remain.

Rumor of an evil widow and her treasure

An envious widow lived in a hut below the castle. She was very bad and hated anyone who had more than she herself. One day, while collecting rye, the widow reached the ruins of Ostrý Kameň Castle and found herself in an underground chamber full of gold. She rolled her eyes at the treasure like a goat on cabbage. She immediately ran after her sons to help her take away the golden treasure. As the sons picked up the gold in the pots, they saw an old man in the corner of the chamber, who drove them out. They told their mother and ran away in fear. However, the evil widow neglected nothing and continued to collect gold. Suddenly, however, the underground and part of the castle collapsed and buried the insatiable widow. Since then, no one has ever found a treasure chest here.

Croatian at the castle

One day a Croat came to Bukova. According to the coat of arms and the dress of the nobles. He settled in the weathered walls and began to rebuild the castle. And wonder at the world, he paid people to work as a robot. It shook the surrounding gentlemen the most, who accused Bakič of robbery. However, this was proved by a document, which the emperor gave him Ostrý kameň castle as a replacement for the destroyed property and the murdered family in his homeland. He took only what they owed him from the Turks in an honorable fight, and he liked to repay those who helped him restore the castle. Bakic's subjects helped restore the castle and eventually received the last ducat as a servant at his wedding in the renovated castle.

The ruins are freely accessible

https://www.hrady-zamky.sk/ostry-kamen/