>In the ground plan, the castle is a simple rectangular formation, which is narrowed on the northwest side. The choice of the castle type was predetermined by the natural environment, when it was enough to adjust the plateau of the conical hill to become impregnable. Only on the northern side, from where the access road leads to the castle, was a ground fortification with a ditch, the remains of which are still visible today. The first building was a residential, three-storey tower with a defensive walkway. After the reconstruction, the tower was raised by two more floors. The tallest of them had a defensive gallery resting on massive stone cradles. Gradual reconstruction and completion of the castle acquired the character of a palace, which had a chapel on the ground floor.Preserved profile window with columns and leaf decoration on the feet is from the beginning of the 14th century. Near the main tower was added a large circular tower, which had a cantilever gallery at the same height as the palace gallery. Its remains are well preserved to the present day. In the 15th century the castle was extended northwest to the edge of the top plateau. A bastion was placed in the narrowed corner of the hill, guarding the access to the castle. The entrance gothic gate was protected by a drawbridge. At the bastion a 10-meter-deep circular cistern was carved in the rock, walled by massive blocks.

The medieval castle was built on an older Slavic fort in the 13th century. The initiators of the construction were probably members of the Slaba branch of the Aba family. It was probably David of the Abovites. The first historical mentions are from 1281, when a stone castle with a round tower was already standing. The owner of the castle and the landscape palatine Finta from the Abovce family in 1281 opposed the economic reforms introduced by King Ladislav IV. Kumánsky. Their dispute culminated in a fight under the castle and ended in victory for the king. Although the king succeeded in his plan and the palatine Finta was defeated, the castle remained the property of the abalone branch of the Abovce family for about 50 years.

In 1330, the castle was acquired by Magister Villiam Drugeth, to whom the original owners exchanged the castle estate for four villages in Šarišská stolice. After his death, his brother Mikuláš Drugeth became the owner of the castle. After the death of King Louis I the Great, the castle passed into the hands of the Drugeth family into the ownership of the royal crown. In 1385, a relative of Ľudovít - a king of Naples, Charles of Drače, called Malý, invaded Hungary as part of the battle for the throne. With the generous support of the nobility from the southern capitals of Hungary, he was crowned King of Hungary on December 31, 1385. At the beginning of 1386, Karol Malý donated Slanec Castle and its surroundings to the aristocratic Lossonczy family. Ladislav Lossonczy became the owner of the castle. However, Karol Malý did not rule for a long time, in the same year Alžbeta Kotromaničová's supporters assassinated him.

After the death of Ladislav Lossonczy, his son Dionýz Lossonczy became the owner of the castle. In the middle of the 15th century, when Albert Lossonczy was the owner of the castle, the castle was temporarily occupied by the troops of the Brothers, who remained here until 1458. In the first half of the 15th century, the castle and the village were burned down. Later, the castle became the property of the family of Ladislav III. Lossonczy, who repaired and restored it at the end of the 15th century. In 1552, the last male member of the family - Štefan Lossonczy - died in the battles against the Turks. After his death, his daughter Anna Lossonczy became the owner of the castle. Anna of the Lossonczy family then married Count Sigismund Forgách in 1590, after the death of her second husband, Baron Krištof Ungnad (he was a Hungarian palatine in 1618-1621). After Anna's death in 1595, her husband Sigismund ruled the estate and tried to get Slanec into hereditary possession for his family. This effort ended successfully when in 1601 Emperor Rudolf II. he donated the castle and surrounding property with a deed of donation. The Forgách family fortified the castle.

During the Rákóczi-Thököly uprisings, the castle changed its owner several times and was severely damaged. After the outbreak of the first anti-Habsburg uprising under the leadership of Stefan Bocskaya, the castle was seized by its bastards in 1605, and in later uprisings the castle fell into the hands of the rebels Gabriel Bethlen (1621), resp. insurgents Juraj I. Rákoczi (d. 1644). After Imrich Tököly's armed performance, his Kuruk divisions seized Slanca relatively quickly as early as 1678, but the castle remained in their power for only one year. As the imperial troops approached the castle, the Kurucs set fire to the castle and fled. Shortly afterwards, General Leslie was ordered by Emperor Leopold to completely destroy the castle, which he did.

Slaný Castle fell into disrepair for more than 130 years after the demolition. Life returned to the castle hill in 1815, when the owner of the manor, Jozef Forgách, had the central castle tower (donjon) reconstructed and established a family museum there. After the death of Štefan Forgách (1916), the last member of the family based in the village of Slanec, the museum still existed until 1937. During the Second World War, the castle tower gradually fell into disrepair until it completely burned down in 1945. The wooden roof was restored after the fire and protected the interior of the tower from the weather for many decades, but at the beginning of the 21st century it gradually fell apart due to weather conditions. Since then, the entire ruin has been exposed to the elements, and destruction has gradually taken place, especially in the weakened, unprotected places of the castle. At present, thanks to the civic association Let's Save Slanec Castle, the castle is undergoing reconstruction and, among other things, the castle tower has been restored.

The rumor says

Gentlemen, dissatisfied with the young ruler, plotted a revolt. Count Forgach broke into the queen's bedroom on a spare summer night with a dagger in his hand, but she, awakened by a rumble, jumped out of bed. The man, dazzled by the beauty of nudity, became the savior of the executioner. As a reward, Slanec received the image of the queen as he had seen her that fateful night.

The scribe is the murderer

The castle scribe Anton once spoke to the noble lord Lossonczy to marry the beautiful Klára Báthora. He loved her himself and at least he wanted to have her close. Later, he also helped to cool the relationship between the spouses. Klára confessed his love and murdered his master. The scribe escaped from the castle and the suspicion fell on a woman who had been sentenced to a long prison term in the murdered man's room. Years later, the scribe returned to the castle disguised as a monk. Klára asked for a night meeting by the lake, where he wanted to get her. At that moment, a big storm broke down and the frightened Klára jumped into the lake and drowned in its turbulent waters. The scribe also went badly, who was subsequently struck by lightning from the sky.

The ruins are freely accessible

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