In my view, Ľubovňa Castle and the open-air museum below it are best done as one trip: the museum is only a few minutes’ walk from the castle. Up at the castle, listen to the legend of how it was built and the story of Móric Beňovský, the King of Madagascar, who was imprisoned here. The open-air museum was the first in Slovakia to be adapted for blind visitors.
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I visited Ľubovňa Castle (Ľubovniansky hrad) and its open-air museum on a trip around northern Spiš and the Pieniny. If I had to name one thing I remember, it would definitely be the legend of how the castle came to be, along with the open-air museum that stands right below it. The castle, also known as hrad Ľubovňa, has stood here since the 13th century and has been rebuilt several times. During the war between Poland and Sweden, the Polish crown jewels were hidden here (copies are on display today), and Móric Beňovský, the King of Madagascar, was held prisoner here too. So what is the legend behind the castle?
Ľubovňa Castle: the history is interesting, the legend even more so
Quick, practical information about Ľubovňa Castle:
- Adult tickets cost €10 for the castle and €5 for the open-air museum (2026), or you can buy a combined ticket for both at €13.
- Students pay €7 for the castle, and children aged 6 to 19 pay €5 (2026).
- Opening hours (2026):
- May to 13 September: daily, 9am–7pm
- 14 to 30 September: daily, 9am–6pm
- October: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm
- November to February: Friday to Sunday, 10am–3pm
- March: Friday to Sunday, 10am–4pm
- April: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6pm, and from 26 April daily, 9am–7pm
- The open-air museum is closed from November to March.
- Contact: +421 52 432 2422, www.hradlubovna.sk
Tip from Milan If you want to explore northern Spiš and the Pieniny by car, Discover Cars compares rental prices the way flight search sites compare fares.
A short history of Ľubovňa Castle
Ľubovňa Castle was built some time after 1292 as a border fortress between the Kingdom of Hungary and Poland. For a full 360 years, from 1412 to 1772, it was part of the territory pledged to Poland, and Polish starostas (royal governors) had their seat here. During the war between Poland and Sweden, the Polish crown jewels were even hidden in the castle. And in 1768 the King of Madagascar, Móric Beňovský, was imprisoned in its tower.
Key dates in the history of the castle and the open-air museum:
1292: Ľubovňa Castle is built some time after this year.
1412: Sigismund of Luxembourg meets Władysław II of Poland here, and the castle becomes part of the territory pledged to Poland and the seat of the starostas.
1553: A huge fire almost destroys the castle. When it is rebuilt, it takes on the look of a Renaissance fortress.
1768: Móric Beňovský is imprisoned in the castle tower.
1833: The village of Matysová builds a wooden church that is now one of the most valuable buildings in the open-air museum below the castle.
1991: The castle chapel is restored and used for services again.
2015: The open-air museum below the castle gains three new houses.
The legend of how Ľubovňa Castle came to be says a lot more. So how was the castle born? Well… Three riders stopped to rest on the bank of the Poprad river near the town of Ľubovňa. Their leader was a nobleman called Ľubovenský. He liked the place so much that he decided to build a castle in these beautiful surroundings. But the next morning everything had vanished, so the castle had to be built again from scratch every single day. Pretty annoying, right?
When Ľubovenský found out that the place belonged to a witch, he went to see her and asked for her permission. She agreed, on one condition: he had to sell her his soul. He agreed, and soon a beautiful castle stood here. But Ľubovenský no longer had a soul, so he went to confess to the priest. When the witch found out about his betrayal, she decided to crush the castle with a huge rock.
At that moment a bell rang out from a nearby monastery and the witch lost her power. She let go of the boulder, and you can still see it on the bank of the Poprad near the village of Hajtovka.
What to see at Ľubovňa Castle: princess dresses and great views
I wouldn’t skip the Renaissance bastion (a part of the fortifications that juts out, which made it easier to defend the castle with cannons) or the three Baroque altars in the castle chapel. I was also taken with the Trumpeter’s Room, with its view from 710 m above sea level. If you like historical fashion, make sure you check out the wedding dresses in the exhibition about the princesses Karolína and Izabela. Have a look at the model of the castle too.
I liked the underground passages (where, among other things, it was pleasantly cool). Down there I came across a torture chamber and the castle well. The castle also has seasonal exhibitions and displays that change throughout the year.
The open-air museum below Ľubovňa Castle
The highlight of the open-air museum is a wooden Greek Catholic (Eastern-rite) church from the village of Matysová, built in 1833. I found log houses from the first half of the 20th century, and there’s also a blacksmith’s forge, a mill and a carpenter’s workshop. I really liked being able to wander around freely and look at every house properly, at my own pace. The whole site has free Wi-Fi, so I sent all my photos to my mum straight from the museum.
The open-air museum is just a few minutes’ walk from Ľubovňa Castle, and its houses were once home to the ancestors of the Gorals and the Rusyns, two communities of this border region. It was the first open-air museum in Slovakia to be adapted for blind visitors, with information boards in Braille.
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.
