The castle was rebuilt and reconstructed many times. In connection with the anti-Turkish defense, fortifications are underway. Several new positions were created for cannons, bastions and in the northern outskirts farm buildings and barracks. Star bastion fortification in the south of the fort complex was the last important fortification.On the eastern corner there is a solid and tall building, slightly protruding from the line of the wall. It resembles a bastion in shape, but it differs in height and use of several floors of the interior from a real bastion. The area of Trenčín Castle consists of a characteristic set of castle palaces with the dominating tower of Matúš, which is adjoined by representative Gothic palaces - Matúš, Ľudovít, Barbora's, and a chapel. The foundations of the pre-Romanesque karner and the remains of a circular rotunda, which probably disappeared at the beginning of the 15th century, have been preserved in the courtyard. The buildings in the lower part of the castle were characterized mainly by defense and economic functions. It is dominated by a cannon bastion added to the chapel and the remains of farm buildings and a mill. The legendary well of Omar was preserved in the courtyard, but despite the rumors, Katzianer soldiers began to excavate it around 1557.There are expositions of Trenčín Museum in the castle.

The fortified seat of Trenčín is connected to the early medieval castle from the 9th century called Trusun. In other sources, however, the castle is not mentioned until the 12th century. New brick buildings in the 11th century were concentrated on the top of the highest rock. It was mainly a four-encapsulated rotunda and a stone residential tower.

In 1241 the castle withstood the onslaught of the Mongols. More fundamental reconstructions took place after the departure of the Tatars. A square fortified area of the castle core was defined. In 1296, the castle became the seat of Matúš Čák. During his reign, they focused mainly on improving the castle's defenses. Its construction activity can be observed especially during the expansion and modification of the block residential tower from the 11th century, to which a residential palace in a massive fortification was added. The tower, still called Matúšova, is a defining element and dominant feature of the wide silhouette. Later building transformations were caused mainly by the devastating siege of the castle in 1321, already after the death of Matúš Čák. During the reconstruction of the upper castle, King Louis I the Great expanded its residential development with a two-storey palace, which was connected to the rotunda. In the 15th century, the castle fell into the hands of Queen Barbora Cejlská. A spacious two-winged palace was built, and the demolition of the old palace and rotunda created a courtyard in front of the new palace. The last medieval reconstruction of the castle was carried out by the Zápoľský family in the years 1475-1528. They supplemented the upper castle with another palace and built a unique defensive complex, which also included an extended horseshoe-shaped tower with a moat. With this modification, the castle became one of the best fortified castles in Upper Hungary.

After the destructive siege and burning of the castle by the army of King Ferdinand of Habsburg in 1528, the necessary modifications were made, but they no longer affected the main structure of the castle and its defense system. The changes were made by the new owner of the castle, Alexej Thurzo, in 1535-1540, who built several artillery positions and cannon bastions. There was a deepening of the famous "well of love" and the construction of a barrier. Imrich Forgách undertook further reconstructions in 1583-1592 and Gašpar Illésházy in 1610-1648. In 1663, fortification work took place in connection with the anti-Turkish defense. In 1673 they built a star bastion fortification in the south of the fortress complex. However, this fortification had only a short duration and already in this period, the decline of the castle began to manifest itself. The decline was helped by a large fire in 1790. Since then, the castle has been in ruins, but in the 19th century, security work began on the castle and continued after the middle of the 20th century. The castle is currently partially renovated.

The grave of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky

Matúš came from a powerful family of Čákovci, whose members faithfully served the Hungarian kings of Arpad for centuries. The Hungarian chronicles derive the origin of the Čákov family from the old Hungarian Sabolč. The first Čák was said to be Sabolč's grandson.

Matúš, the third name in the family, called Trenčiansky, also served the last Arpádovec Ondrej III. with a gun in the offices. He became a governor of Bratislava and later a Trenčín. The culmination of his career was the rank of Hungarian palatine, the second man in the kingdom, right after the monarch. However, his unbridled and greedy nature eventually led him to conflict with royal power. After Ondrej's death and the extinction of the Arpád family, there was a period of interregno (anarchy), which Matúš Čák took full advantage of. By alternating the support of individual pretendants to the throne, from which he had his violent occupations and robberies confirmed and legalized, he gained enormous wealth and power. At the peak of his reign he owned (according to various sources) about 40-90 castles and about 12-26 capitals and 24 towns and cities, he controlled almost the whole of present-day Slovakia, part of Transdanubia and had property in Moravia. His unofficial title, Dominus Vagi et Tatrae, or "Lord of Vah and the Tatras," was certainly not just an empty compliment. He made Trenčín Castle the center of his extensive states with his own court and allegedly minted his own coins here. However, none was ever found, so it is probably just a slander of his many enemies. And Matthew had more than enough of them. From his battered neighbors to the king and church authorities. As he not only spared the property of his weaker neighbors, but also plundered and occupied crown and church goods, he immediately fell into a church curse twice. An interdict, or ecclesiastical ban on the administration of the sacraments, was declared over his property. Although the young Hungarian king Karol Róbert of Anjou proved to be a capable adversary for Matúš as well, the mutual struggle seemed rather indecisive. When Matthew died in the spring of 1321, his power was unbroken, but without a worthy heir and successor.

The grave of Matúš Čák Trenčiansky was never found. This must have bothered his contemporaries, and all the more fascinated by later researchers, mysteries and romantics of all kinds.

It seemed inconceivable that such a powerful and wealthy nobleman would not take care of the magnificent place of his last rest. Therefore, the legend of a hidden tomb was born, in which the castle lord of Trenčín is buried with many treasures in an iron, silver and gold chest. However, it is suspiciously reminiscent of the legend of the death of Hun's Attila, the Whip of God.

Especially in the romantic 18th and 19th centuries, many treasure hunters tried to find Matthew's grave. They searched for him once in the basement of Matthew's Tower, other times under a plum tree in the lower courtyard, or in a secret shaft at Jeremiah's bastion. Others believe that he is buried under the Váh riverbed or somewhere in the Cherry Orchard in Brezina. According to another legend, he escaped from the castle in front of the royal army through a secret corridor and lived in the monastery on Velká Skalka, where he is also buried.

The reality is probably more sober. Matúš probably really died at Trenčín Castle at a time when he was besieged by the king's army or when he was still approaching the castle. Given the number of his staunch enemies, the hatred of the church, and the dubious allegiance of some of his fellows (many had already betrayed him), he sensed that he could not hope for leniency even after death. Apparently he did not even believe in the ability of his designed successor Štefan Čech, so he let several of his faithful people be buried in secret and ordered the place of his last rest to be kept secret. And Štefan was not wrong, he did not keep the castle, and shortly after Matúš's death, his logs fell apart in a flash. Who could seek mercy from the king. Those who buried Matthew may have fallen during the last defense of the castle, or if they survived, they kept their secret until his death. We can only speculate about this.

It probably won't be so hot with those treasures either. Despite the church curses (nothing unusual at the time), Matúš considered himself a good Christian, as evidenced by the fact that, according to some data, despite the interdict, the abbot of Skalský Ján secretly went to serve him at Trenčín Castle. As Christians know, no treasures are placed in the tomb. And so the treasures were apparently stolen by those who had access to them after Matthew's death, and what was left was seized by the royal army. Only a legend remained.

Well of love

One of the oldest, but also the most beautiful Slovak legends about Omar, Fatima and the Well of Love is connected with the period of the estate of the Zápoľský family at Trenčín Castle. It talks about the love of the Turkish Pasha Omar for the beautiful Fatima, a prisoner of Štefan Zápoľský at Trenčín Castle.

For her freedom, Omar promised to dig a well in the castle to make it truly impregnable. With his 300 species, he allegedly tried to dig precious water out of hard rock for three years. He succeeded in this at the cost of death of almost all species. With the words "Zápoľský, you have water, but your heart does not" he took Fatima home. As he left, Fatima's veil was allegedly caught on the bushes on the bend of the road to the castle. The inn, which was established on this site in the 16th century, was called the Veil and is now called Fatima.

In fact, it was the original building of the rectory, belonging to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Even with the well, it was not as it does. In fact, in the early 1930s, it was started by the soldiers of the Habsburg garrison of the castle and the subjects of the Trenčín estate. It took them about forty years to reach a level almost 80 meters below the surface of the rock. The work was completed by Alexius Thurzo around 1570. Although they did not encounter the spring, the level of condensed rainwater in this artificial reservoir reached a satisfactory level. To this day, it fluctuates between 12 and 15 meters.

The permanent Well of Love is also dedicated to the permanent exhibition located in the nearby Gothic chapel.

Opening hours and admission

http://www.muzeumtn.sk/trenciansky-hrad.html?page_id=297

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