In my view, Liptovský Hrádok Castle is worth a visit mainly for the story of two women: Magdalena Zai and today’s lady of the castle, Dagmar Machová. I’d recommend touring both the castle and the manor house, which is now a hotel. For trips around the area, a car will come in handy.
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I wrote this article in 2018. Prices, opening hours and connections may have changed since then, so check them before you go.
Pretty much every Slovak knows Liptovský Hrádok, a town in the Liptov region of northern Slovakia. I read somewhere recently that Slovakia has more castles per head than any other country in Europe. I can’t vouch for that, but I believe it. One of those castles stands in Liptovský Hrádok. Later a manor house went up next to it, and today it houses the Chateau GrandCastle hotel.
Tip from Milan I’d recommend booking your accommodation as early as you can, because rooms in a good location at a fair price go first. Here you’ll find accommodation offers in the area valid today.
Liptovský Hrádok Castle and its manor house
Here’s why the castle and manor house in Liptovský Hrádok owe their good condition to two women. The two women never met, because they lived in completely different times. Yet between them, they made the castle and manor house what they are today. So who are they?
- Magdalena Zai (1561–1629, more about her)
- Dagmar Machová (today)
Who built Liptovský Hrádok Castle and who owns it today?
The castle is under constant restoration of one kind or another, and it’s nowhere near fully restored or ‘finished’. They even found a cave inside it, and cavers from the Slovak Speleological Society have been exploring it since 2018. Liptovský Hrádok Castle stands on a low crag, and its builder is thought to have been the knight Magister Donč. ‘Magister’ meant tax collector. When he moved to the area, the locals weren’t exactly thrilled, because now they had to start paying taxes.
The castle changed its name often over the centuries; it was also known as Novum Castrum. Today the castle and the manor house together go by the name GrandCastle. Besides the tours, there’s a four-star hotel and the Magdalena Zai restaurant. My full review of Chateau GrandCastle has some nice photos I took of the restaurant and of my room in the manor house. So who owns the castle and manor house today? The castle now belongs to a Slovak, Dagmar Machová, who bought it at the end of 2001 and renovated it.
History of Liptovský Hrádok Castle and its owners
The castle changed hands fairly often. It was granted as a reward for services, and wealthy people could even lease it from the Crown. The first owner was the Magister Donč I mentioned above; later came Sigismund of Luxembourg and his wife, Empress Barbara of Cilli. Women couldn’t inherit at the time, so when her husband died, Barbara lost all her property, the castle included. Matthias Corvinus was among the owners too. He founded the Academia Istropolitana, the first university in what is now Slovakia.
At first only the castle stood here; the manor house came later. And this brings us to the first woman, the one we can thank for the way the castle and manor house look today. Mikuláš Sándorfi had an L-shaped Renaissance manor house built next to the castle, specially for his wife, Magdalena Zai. One curious detail: it has two bedrooms, quite a long way apart. Building it right by the castle was fairly unusual for the time, as manor houses usually stood further away from castles. But castles weren’t very comfortable places to live, so in 1601 the manor house was added, and Mikuláš and Magdalena lived in it together. Not for long, though…
Magdalena married no fewer than five times, as each of her husbands died, mysteriously, within four years of the wedding. Women couldn’t inherit back then, so each time she had to find a new husband who would buy the castle for her. Only then could she stay on here.
That’s why you’ll see Magdalena Zai’s name next to other owners too. In 1616 she was allowed to live here on her own. After years of hardship, she was finally an owner herself. The last owner of the castle was Emanuel Liechtenstein. After him, the castle only had administrators. Once it passed to the state, it housed the public prosecutor’s office and a museum. From 1990 the castle fell into disrepair until the end of 2001, when Dagmar Machová bought it and started restoring it.
Over time the castle has had several family coats of arms. Today’s shows three trees, which stand for the town’s forestry history. The green shield at the bottom represents the owner and her family. The silver and gold part is the coat of arms of the Zai family: Dagmar was drawn to the story of Magdalena Zai, who fought for the castle and later owned it. In 1803 a great fire burned down a large part of the castle. Nobody repaired it afterwards and life moved to the manor house, so from then on the castle fell into decay.
Liptovský Hrádok Castle tours and tickets
You can visit the castle. I took the tour myself, and that’s where I learnt everything in this article. Ticket prices, tour times, how long the tour lasts and the opening hours are on the official website (I won’t copy them here, as they may change). Guests staying at Chateau GrandCastle get the tour at a reduced price.
One thing to know: the tours start at the back of the castle (you go in from the main road), not by the restaurant, as I had assumed. I nearly missed mine because of it. The tour is worth it, as you also get up into a small tower with a great view.
Letné hradovánky and other events at the castle
If you’re passing in summer, you might be lucky and catch Letné hradovánky (roughly ‘summer castle revels’). I missed them by one weekend, sadly. They’re unconventional tours of Liptovský Hrádok Castle that show how the lords and ladies of the castle passed their free time and what their sense of humour was like. The castle posts its current events on social media, so that’s the place to check whether they’re on this year. And how does today’s lady of the castle, Dagmar Machová, spend her free time? She plants hydrangeas and bustles around the castle with a little watering can. Rather endearing, isn’t it?
Restoration of Liptovský Hrádok Castle
The castle itself is under constant restoration, and there’s still a long way to go. Even so, a good deal of work has gone into it. For comparison, have a look at these photos:
A Slovak travel blogger who has been getting Slovaks out of their office chairs since 2013. Author of the book Influencer and founder of the Bez Mapy blog. "Bez Mapy" is Slovak for "without a map".
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