A large part of the masonry of the chapel with Gothic vaults, parts of the tower and palaces, farm buildings, fortifications, bastions and mansions are preserved. The lining of Gothic, originally broken windows, remains of plaster and several Renaissance architectural details are preserved on the chapel.The oldest part of the castle is the upper castle with an irregular ground plan with an inner courtyard, which was gradually built up by residential and farm buildings. The dominant feature was a massive prismatic tower, situated on the highest point of the hill. The castle was rebuilt in 1460-1480 and expanded to the dam on the northern side, which was later fortified by two polygonal bastions. In r.1554 was completed second bail protected by bastion.

Written reports mention the castle since 1309, when it belonged to the mayor of Zvolen, Master Donč, whom historians also consider to be its builder. In other sources, a kind of Václav Sylburg is mentioned as its historically oldest owner. The castle became a royal property in 1339. In 1383, Queen Mary donated the castle to Juraj Bebek, who was also appointed county governor of the Turčianske and Liptov regions. The Bebek family was Sklabiňa Castle and their property was confiscated in 1403 for standing against Queen Mary and her husband Sigismund. King Sigismund had the castle fortified with a two-meter wall, the remains of which are still visible today.

In the years 1410-1470, Ondrej Balický and his family had the castle in reserve. During their dominion in 1436, after the Hussite attack, the castle burned down. In 1470, King Matej Korvín donated the castle to Sklabiňa, as well as part of the Principality of Liptov, to a certain Ján Ernest, probably for support and help in the war. In 1493 King Vladislav II. he gave Sklabina as a deposit to Peter Instruction and in 1505 Ján Zápoľský occupied Sklabina, who significantly fortified it. But he did not rule on it for long, because he had to leave all his property in Slovakia and flee to Poland. The castle subsequently became the property of King Ferdinand I, who stayed at the castle until 1534. In 1527, Ferdinand I of Habsburg donated half of the castle and its manor to František Révay, but gave the other to Ladislav and Mikuláš Macedonian. In 1540, the Révay family also acquired the second part of the castle and the whole castle belonged to them until the middle of the 20th century. In 1554, the castle was extended by the southern, second fort. These building modifications were also related to the Turkish danger, which threatened especially the southern regions of Slovakia. In the years 1610-1612, the Révay family built a comfortable Renaissance multi-storey manor house in the third fort, which they fortified according to the then defensive requirements. During the Thököly Uprising in 1679, Sklabiňa was conquered by insurgent troops led by Michal Bakoš, and in 1687 the castle was attacked by Sklabiňa.

When the administration of the capital moved to Martin in the middle of the 18th century, the castle completely lost its original meaning. The core of the castle was so low that in 1800 the vault of the chapel collapsed. The Northern Renaissance Palace, the so-called manor house, used by the Révay family as a summer residence and at the same time as a family museum until the 20th century. Its end came in 1944, when it was burned down by German troops, while the bastions around the main gate were not lowered until the second half of the 20th century.

The civic association DONJON operated under the castle, which has taken care of the castle since 2000 and has operated the private Sklabiňa Castle Museum here since 2006. In 2009, the then owner, in cooperation with the municipality, founded the company Castrum Sclabana. From March 2020, the castle was handed over to the original Donjon association, which began cleaning and restoring the castle.

The rumor says

The castle was started to be built on Katova skala by a father, whose daughter the Stigone had carved in stone there, because she refused to go to his wife again. What they built during the day was behind the valley by morning. So Sklabiňa grew up on the hill opposite the cliff, where the deva is still waiting to be cleared.

The legend of the castle

During storms, you can hear the roaring footsteps of the castle, the rumble of chains and weapons and other strange sounds. He is also said to be exaggerating a faceless knight in a dark cloak. Under the castle also lived a snake with a head as big as a calf, who saw it, could not move from the place.

Admission to the castle and museum is paid (castle + museum 5 €, only castle 3 €)

https://www.hrady-zamky.sk/sklabina/