Grand Castle, Liptovský Hrádok

GrandCastle Chateau Hotel offers you accommodation in 15 chambers consisting of categories: premium a superior. In addition, the manorhouse offers you 3 spacious luxury apartments.

The remains of the castle Hradok together with the manor house dominate over Liptovsky Hradok, above Liptov. The ruinous state of the castle and manor house in the early 1930 's concerned many people who cared for the monuments of Liptov. The monuments were unfortunately not saved during the first Republic term or during the Socialist term.

The dilapidated state of the castle continued into the 1990's. Local people and tourists who cared about the castle felt very upset, but the situation continued despite help from the management of Liptov museum in Ruzomberok.

In 1989 the castle and manor house were unoccupied, the buildings were unheated and valuable parts of the interior of the castle and manor house were stolen.

In 2001 Mrs. Dagmar Machova visited the ruined manor house and castle of Liptovsky Hradok. As soon as she laid eyes on the castle an idea was born. It was her idea to rebuild the castle.

The company DM Plast Ltd. bought the Castle and Manorhouse at the end of the year and has expanded its activities. Heroic plans for the restoration have been closely linked with the hope that Slovakia will soon become an EU member and would like to contribute the best of Slovakia to the well-being of Europeans.

The restored Castle and Manor house together with the surrounding area including the park is open for public as a Chateau Hotel.

Chateau Hotel GrandCastle in Liptovsky Hradok - based on its history and location is ideal for meetings, presentations and conferences. The open environment enables guests to freely develop their thinking and creativity.

The historical buildings will in the future, besides accommodation in the original furnished apartments, offer an environment for cultural events such as concerts, exhibitions, festivals and conferences. The Manor House built in 1603 by Magdalena Zay, will once again become a place for European gatherings and the castle ruins will be open to the public after the reconstruction is completed.

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History

In the 13th century the Gown (head of the province) of Zvolen built the castle of stone on a 5 meters high limestone rock, surrounded by a water ditch, which is well preserved and has the appearance of a lake. The first reference to the castle is from 1341 as ,,Wywar” in later documents it is referred to as ,,Novum Castrum”, Novy Hrad or Hradek. The castle was built by the Royal Estate to control the very important road called ,,Via Magna” In 1433 the castle was captured by the Hussit, but was later occupied by Jiskrovci, after which the castle changed owners many times. In the second half of the 16th century the brothers Valentine and Frantisek Balas rebuilt the castle. From documents that have been well preserved, it’s known that in 1579 they invested more then 3000 golden coins on renovations

After they died in 1600 the castle and the manor house belonged to Mikulas Sandorfy and his young lady Magdalena Zai. She was a widow of the castle's previous owner. Between 1601 and 1603 Mikulas Sandorfy restored the castle in a Renaissance style, and added to it a Renaissance manor house. The renaissance castle was built using stone from broken castle walls. The ground floor of the castle was used for stock and a housing area for the servants, whilst the first floor was used to accommodate the owners and their guests.

The castle was heavily damaged during the Rebellions of the Estates at the turnoff the 17th to18th century. The Imperial General built strong defenses against the rebel Frantisek Rakozci. Later, at the beginning of 18th century the Imperial Leopold I. gifted the castle and the manor house to Prince Lichtenstein. In 1709 during the important battle of Svihrova between the rebel and imperials armies, the rebel forces destroyed the old castle. In 1731 King Larder bought the castle and the manor house from Emanuel Lichtenstein. Extensions to the manor house were stopped in 1803 by a big fire at the castle.

After this calamity the officers of the king decided to restore only the manor house. The castle was from that year in ruins. The fire wasn't the only calamity to occur at the castle. In 1813 during an extremely rainy summer there was a catastrophic flood.

Between 1860-1874 part of the castle was used to house the district court and jail. In 1932 parts of the old castle were closed for safety reasons. After further repairs the castle housed the museum of Liptov. Between 1990-2002 the castle and manor house were unoccupied.