Hronsek – Water Castle

History

   The first, late Gothic stronghold in Hronsek was founded in the 15th century on the initiative of the Prokop and Soós families. In 1576, it was rebuilt and strengthened in relation with the approaching Turkish turbulence. During the Rakoczi anti-Habsburg uprising, the allegedly insurgent mint operated in it. Remodels from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not change much in the shape and structure of the building.

Architecture

   The castle was surrounded by the perimeter of the defensive wall with four corner, four-sided towers, around which a moat once ran. Access to the interior was provided by a drawbridge, hidden in a four-sided niche in which there was a semicircular gate portal. The main residential building was erected in the middle of the inner courtyard as a two-story building on a rectangular plan. In the ground floor, it had slit and key arrowslits, while the higher storeys were pierced with slightly larger four-sided windows. Inside, in the great hall, the facades were covered with late-Gothic and Renaissance paintings.

Current state

   The interior of the castle (called now Vodný Hrad) is not available for sightseeing. For a long time it has remained in ruin, but in recent years has undergone a thorough renovation.

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bibliography:
Website wikipedia.org, Hronsek.