The castle complex, which has been inhabited since the Middle Ages, consists of the upper and lower castle. The upper castle was built in the first half of the 13th century as a Gothic building. Later there was a two-storey building with a rectangular ground plan in the middle of which is a small courtyard. The Lower Castle was built in the Renaissance period in the 16th century and represents a large courtyard with a number of farm buildings.Interesting preserved buildings include Gizela's house, which consists of the Gizela's Hall and the Social Hall, and the Hunting lounge. Gizela's Hall has a fresco painting from the late 19th century. On the front wall is a picture of the founder Gizela - Archduchess of Austria. The interior of the hall is illuminated by a number of windows on the southern wall. The furniture of the Gizela's Hall consists of a series of chairs, in the style of Louis XVI. Social Hall consists of a large hall with a maximum capacity of 50 seats. Illuminated by a series of windows from three sides. It is connected to the Gizeline Hall by a marble staircase. The floor is made of dark wood and the beamed ceiling is covered with a wooden flap after restoration. The room has excellent acoustics and air conditioning. Forged interior chandeliers and side lights of the same kind illuminate the interior. The hall has furniture consisting of a series of chairs and tables of dark wood. Hunting lounge It is a part of a modern extension of economic buildings, connected to the northern wall of the lower courtyard. The interior is illuminated from two sides by two windows. From these sides there are two door entries. The interior is complemented by a wooden beamed ceiling and a wooden staircase to the attic. The room is furnished with carved wooden furniture with a capacity of 16 seats and three benches. The walls are decorated with deer and deer antlers, complemented by Ľupča ceramics and two hunting rifles from the 19th century.The smooth façades of the castle exterior have preserved relatively few original architectural details, mostly only Gothic window frames, gunshot and unlucky noses. The observation bay with a high needle roof has been preserved on the corner, with a Renaissance window under it. Interesting is the so-called. Rubigall portal, which dates back to 1573.

The castle was built in 1241 after the looting invasion of the Tatars. In 1255 it is mentioned in connection with the charter of Bela IV. for the town of Banská Bystrica (nova villa Bystriciensis prope Lipche, r. 1255). Therefore, it is assumed that the stone castle - tower, was built in the first half of the 13th century, probably on the site of the original fort. After the death of the Hungarian monarch Andrew III. the Arpád family disappears and the Ľupča castle, as a royal property, has often changed owners since then. The blasts fell into the hands of the nobles, who did not respect the royal tenure. During this period, the history of the castle was associated with the name of the last mayor of the Zvolen Grand Duchy, the master knight Donč. His close ties with Ľupča are confirmed by a document from 1323. In it, Pope John XXII. allows Donč to be buried in the crypt of the church in Ľupča, where his ancestors rest.

In the second half of the 14th century, Hungarian rulers, Karol Róbert of Anjou and his son Ľudovít Veľký, came to the castle. In 1424, King Sigismund donated the castle to his second wife Barbora Cejlská, and later the castle was acquired by Queen Elizabeth, who, however, released the property to Juraj Horváth - the castle captain, due to financial problems. His descendants remained in the castle until 1447. In the meantime, however, in June 1443 there was a large earthquake in Hungary, during which the castle was largely destroyed, which was subsequently extensively repaired by Gregor of Korbava and probably expanded, which is confirmed by the results of current archaeological research. In 1490, Ľupča Castle, also with the manor, was owned by Urban Dóczy from Veľká Lúče from Queen Beatrix of Aragón, thus beginning the reign of the Dóczy family at the castle. The Dóczy family behaved very arbitrarily towards their neighbors, regardless of whether they were mining towns or peasants. They prevented them from building roads and illegally levied tolls. In 1517, the Dóczy family invaded Brezno and burned and plundered it for the most part. The riots lasted until 1531, when Captain Krištof Thurn, an electorate from Zvolen, occupied the castle on the orders of Queen Maria Jagelska and took it away from the Dóczy family. Krištof restored the castle and the renaissance alterations of the castle culminated in the possession of the merchant Pavel Rubigall and his son in 1570 to 1590. After his death in 1595, the Polish nobleman Gašpar Tribel settled in the castle, who remained here until 1620. After Tribel's death in 1620, the castle was bought by Štefan Széchy and after his quick death it was acquired by his widow Mária Széchy, who later married František Wesselényi. In 1666, Francis was at the forefront of the conspiracy against the king, and after his death as a widow in 1670, he confiscated all his property, including the castle.

After the attack of Francis II. Rákóczi in 1703, the castle fell into the hands of the insurgents and the Duke of Transylvania donated it to his Count Mikuláš Bercsényi for his merits. In 1708 the castle for the king was recaptured by Viliam Loffelholz. At that time, the Austrian garrison was stationed here and the castle served as a prison. The whole area was managed by German castellans in the service of the Comoros.

In the 19th century, reconstructions took place in the Classicist style, but the importance of the castle as a center of administration of the area disappeared. The manor moved to newly built mansions. After the fire, in the second half of the 19th century, the reconstruction was started in the neo-Gothic style. In 1886-1887, an extension was built for an educational institution and a later orphanage. At this time, a building was added - Gizel's house. The orphanage, school, but also the Juvenile Training Institute lasted here until the 20th century. The castle became a farm building, as part of which there were also minor building modifications. In the period II. World War II was used to advance troops, probably for the internment of prisoners. After the war, he often changed the staff: the emigrants, the vocational school, and after modifications in the interior of the complex, a charity and a priestly seminar were located here. In the 1980s, the castle was used by the Socialist Youth Union, and after it, in the early 1990s, it was taken over by the Banská Bystrica Regional Monuments Institute. Ľupča Castle, at the end of 2002, was acquired by the new owner of Železiarna Podbrezová a.s., who began the reconstruction of the entire castle grounds. The aim of the restoration was to make the castle accessible to the general public as an important cultural and historical monument, which is closely connected with the region of the Upper Pohronie.

Legend about Verona

At the Ľupčianské castle, from which there is a beautiful view of the Bystrotok Hron, the castle castellan lived with his young wife, who was in a blessed state. Together they dreamed and dreamed of plans for the future. The young woman gave her life to her comforted son, but it was difficult to save her, she kept getting sick and weak. Unable to handle a robot at home, she called her cousin Veronica, who had been an orphan since she was a child. Veronka was beautiful, cheerful, a joke and a laugh. The whole house came to life with her, and even the young lady Castelian cut her a little in her company.

When the surrounding manor learned about a nice helper at the Ľupčianské castle, they began to flock there for entertainment from far and wide. Veronka has always been the star around which the whole society revolved. She enchanted everyone, but rejected the hand and heart of all the questioners. She burned with sinful love for her host, the castle castellan Selecký. Kastelán returned her love and completely neglected his sick wife.

Mrs. Kastelánka knew what was going on, but she knew that she, sick, could not compete with the beautiful and young Veronka, and she suffered a lot. The castle lady also noticed it when she came to the Ľupčiansky castle and it didn't give her peace. Kastelánka was her faithful companion in her days as a girl.

One evening, when she was walking in the castle garden, she heard a whisper from behind a lilac neck and listened. Verona urged the castellan to murder his sick wife and marry her. Selecký did not even want to hear about such a cruel act and talked her into waiting patiently.

When the castle lady heard this, she was terrified. For the ingratitude with which she showed herself to Mrs. Kastelánka, she had her imprisoned in the castle tower. Verona's remorse devoured and after a short time she went crazy in her prison.

One day, rage caught her, she jumped across the arch into the abyss and killed herself. However, her soul did not find peace in the afterlife either. On the moonlit nights, he walks around the castle whining and looking for his beloved.

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http://www.hradlupca.sk/hradlupca/hradslupca.nsf/page/Cennik_vstupneho_na_Hrad_Lupca

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