Trenčín

Slovakia

PERSONAGES WHAT TO EAT MUST-SEE PICTURES

PERSONAGES

Matúč Čák

Matúč Čák of Trenčín was an independent feudal lord and the oligarch and began his court career in 1293, from 1296 he became the Hungarian paladin for three years, leading a conquest policy. He owned 30 castles, but he chose Trenčín Castle as his seat, which he rebuilt to to make it his expensive princely seat, from where he controlled a large part of the territory of today’s Slovakia and northern Hungary with the help of his retinue for almost two decades. His contemporaries already awarded him the title “Lord of river Váh and the Tatra mountains” and he was the guarantor of the northwestern border of the Kingdom of Hungary. The territory controlled by him was called Matúš’s land, so-called Terra Matthaei.

Cilli Family

To the German aristocratic family Cilli belonged the historical territory divided between today’s Croatia and Serbia, while several lucrative marriages brought this family to the forefront of European politics. Queen Barbara of Hungary, Roman-German and Bohemian was the second wife of Sigismund of Luxembourg, one of the most important medieval rulers. Trenčín Castle and the manor house passed into the ownership together with other castles of Považie. Štefan Zapolya acquired the castle of Trenčín with the manor after Barbara of Cilli, for her proven services to the Hungarian king Mathias Corvinus. After each of the feudal lords, a trace of development is left in the form of palace buildings and fortifications growing.

Byť v koži niekoho iného

Literally "to be in someone else's skin," the equivalent in English would be "put yourself in someone's shoes."

WHAT TO EAT

Buchty na pare

This is a dish that everyone loves, especially children. It is steamed dumplings with a filling, usually jam or chocolate, with melted butter, powdered sugar and cocoa on top. It can be considered as a dessert, but local people generally eat it as a main dish.

Bryndzové halušky

It is considered a national dish. The main ingredients are potato dumplings, sheep cheese called "Bryndza," sour cream, and bacon.

Kapustnica

This is a cabbage soup with mushrooms, sausage and lots of red paprika seasoning, served with bread. However, not everyone follows the same recipe. Some people add potatoes, some add plums or apples, some add smoked meat, etc. Some families also make a white version of the soup, mixed with sour cream. Traditionally, people serve this soup on Christmas Eve.

MUST-SEE

Trenčín Castle

As an important construction work, the castle participated in the development of the feudal seat and fortress in Europe. It has undergone many changes over five centuries: the richest period in this regard falls between the end of the 15th and the first half of the 16th century. During this period, in addition to the artistic trends and increasing demands for comfort, the consequences of the increasing use of long-range firearms were also manifested. This led to new methods of fortification. The castle began to expand in width and got a new fortification with a double moat. Behind the older wall, a large bastion was built with a curtain wall and two moats enclosed by high fortification walls. At the center of the walls, isolated round towers stand opposite each other, which were crucial for long-distance defense.

Trenčín Castle fortification

In the 16th century, several Italian Renaissance builders worked in the city as well as in the castle. Their work was a guarantee of high quality in all aspects. The most important Italian builder was the fortification engineer of the imperial court Pietro Ferrabosco. His name is associated with the demanding reconstruction of the southern fortifications, when casemates were added to the wall lining the outer moat. These have been preserved in a torsional state to these days. During this period, one of the high bastions of the southern fortifications acquired a typical artillery battlement with a rounded upper edge, as can be seen in other buildings of Italian masters. Overall fortification of Trenčín Castle was considered the safest of its time and had no analogues in Europe.

The well of love

In the lower courtyard of the castle complex there is an 80 meter deep well, to which one of the oldest Slovak legends about Fatima and Omar is connected. According to legend, the beautiful Fatima was imprisoned by Štefan Zapolya at Trenčín Castle. He promised to return Omar’s wife on condition of digging a castle well. After three years of trying, Omar managed to dig a well and with the words “Zapolya, you have water, but not a heart” he took Fatima home. According to legend, the well is also called the “well of love”. In fact, at the beginning of the 16th century, the well was dug into a rocky cave by hand, and despite its depth, it did not encounter water in it. It therefore served as a reservoir of rainwater.