History
The origins of Kežmarok Castle were linked to the Hungarian Zápolya (Hun. Szapolyai) family, who in the 15th century became owners of a settlement centered around the church of St. Elizabeth at the confluence of the Poprad and Ľubica rivers. St. Elizabeth’s church was likely damaged during the Hussite raid in 1433 and lost its importance to the town’s church of the Holy Cross. The stones from St. Elizabeth’s church were used in the construction of the castle. This work began during the brothers István and Imre, the latter of whom was the zupan of Spiš, palatine of Krajina, and ban of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia. In 1461, King Matthias Corvinus commissioned István Zápolya to build a castle “sub Alpinus,” as the Tatra Mountains were once called. Shortly thereafter, in 1463, a certain Pavol Szép was recorded as the castellan of Kežmarok Castle, and in 1465 the castle was mentioned as already in operation.
István Zápolya died childless in 1487, leaving his estate and titles to his brother, who lived until 1499. His son Jan, like his father, rarely visited Kežmarok, possessing many more impressive and important residences, especially after he was elected King of Hungary by the nobility after the Mohács Battle. In 1527, John Zápolya ceded Kežmarok to the Batthyány family. However, a year later, taking advantage of the civil war between two pretenders to the Hungarian throne (Jan Zápolya and Ferdinand Habsburg), the castle passed into the possession of the Polish Łaski family, who entered Jan’s service after his escape to Poland. The Łaski family struggled with financial difficulties, which forced them to pledge the castle and town to the Polish nobleman Mikołaj Mink in 1531. The new tenant soon sided with Ferdinand, which forced the townspeople and the Łasks to take over the castle by force. As a result, Hieronim Łaski settled permanently in Kežmarok. The conflicts did not end for long, as in 1533, Jan Zápolya, accusing Hieronim Łaski of unloyal actions, stripped him of his property and imprisoned him. The castle passed into Jan’s possession, but only formally, as Kežmarok was captured by an imperial Habsburg garrison. The Łaski family regained possession of the castle and town after Jan’s death in 1540.
Hieronim’s successor, Albert Łaski, inherited his father’s penchant for turbulent living and therefore married the wealthy Beata Kościelecka, widow of Prince Ostrogski. When she left Kežmarok in 1565 with the townspeople on the first known tourist trip to the Tatra Mountains, her husband deemed her unfaithful and imprisoned her upon her return. Beata spent six years in prison, which drove her to madness, while Albert Łaski squandered her dowry. As a result, the marriage did not improve the Łaski family’s financial situation and forced them to pledge more and more property. First, these were the villages of Mengusovce and Malý Slavkov, and then, in 1571, Kežmarok, which was given to the Upper Hungarian captain Jan Rueber of Piscendorf. Under the new government, the castle burned down in 1575, necessitating further property transactions and pledges to raise funds for repairs, and consequently sparking heated disputes. In 1584, these led to an attempted forcible seizure of the castle by Albert Łaski’s men and the townspeople. At that time, Sebastian Thököly’s garrison was defending the castle, claiming ownership of Kežmarok due to loans granted to Jan Rueber. Ultimately, after the ruler’s intervention, the townspeople pledged allegiance to the Thököly family, who then held Kežmarok Castle for four generations.
During the first members of the Thököly family, the Gothic castle in Kežmarok was thoroughly rebuilt into a lavish Renaissance aristocratic residence, gradually stripped of its defensive features in favor of a higher standard of living. Among others, the moat was filled in to create gardens, and the defensive walls were decorated with attics and sgraffito ornaments. Around 1628, the northeastern wing and gate tower were rebuilt, housing a dining room and a drawing room. In 1657-1658, the former tower was rebuilt into a chapel in the Baroque style. Artisans brought from Italy at this time decorated the interiors of the castle, especially the chapel, with rich stucco work. They likely also contributed to the construction of the stables to the east of the palace.
The Thököly family was a perennial enemy of the Habsburgs, and Imre Thököly, leader of the great anti-Habsburg Kuruc Uprising of 1672, additionally allied himself with the Ottomans in their fight against the Empire. Therefore, when the Turks were defeated at Vienna in 1683, Emperor Leopold I confiscated all of Thököly’s Hungarian estates. The castle’s last private owner was Ferdinand Rüber, from whom the town purchased it in 1702. After the castle passed into the possession of the townspeople, its premises were used as a granary, later as barracks, and later as various factories and workshops. Deprived of comprehensive supervision, the castle fell into disrepair, especially as various parts were destroyed by fire several times (including in 1741, 1787, and 1865). Already in the second half of the 19th century, ideas emerged to use it as a museum, but it was not until partial renovations in 1931, that the first museum exhibition was opened in one of the towers. Between 1962 and 1985, extensive archaeological work was carried out at the castle, combined with thorough conservation.
Architecture
The castle was built at the confluence of the Poprad River, flowing on the west side, and the smaller Ľubica River on the east, which flowed into the Poprad on the north side of the castle. It was situated in the northeastern part of the town, on the site of the 13th-century church of St. Elizabeth, from which building materials were sourced during the work on the castle. As the first quadrilateral gate tower and defensive walls were built, which were connected with the town walls that were already existing at that time, and partly used their northern and northeastern fragment. In this way, the castle acquired the shape of an irregular ellipse.
The perimeter of the walls was reinforced with two corner cylindrical towers (on the eastern and western sides) and a single semicircular tower on the southern side. Another semicircular tower, originally part of the town fortifications, was located on the northern side. Additionally, on the town side, the castle was protected by a lower outer wall, extending from both outer corners of the quadrangular gate tower. On the western side, the corner of the outer wall was reinforced with a small cylindrical tower. A moat was dug in front of the outer wall, over which a Gothic stone drawbridge, was built to the gate tower.
Inside the defensive perimeter, along the walls, residential and utility buildings were built. The oldest wings were west and north-east, with the latter probably serving as the main building. Most of the rooms on the ground floor had barrel vaults and likely served auxiliary and utility functions. Gothic representative and residential chambers must have existed on the first floor, which included, among others, the so-called knights’ hall, a large chamber resembling a great hall. Additional utility buildings were located in the southern part of the courtyard, on either side of the gate.
Current state
The castle has been preserved until the present times in the form of a Renaissance-Baroque style, but with a clear layout of its original appearance. Currently, it serves museum purposes. The exhibitions presents the development of Kežmarok from its inception to the 1930s against the background of the history of the ruling families. The castle courtyard is available without restrictions, and the exhibitions are visited in organized groups with a guide. Beginning at any full hour from 9.00 to 16.00. From Saturday to Monday there is no entry at 11.00, out of season also at 12:00.
bibliography:
Baráthová N., Kežmarský hrad, Martin 1989.
Bóna M., Plaček M., Encyklopedie slovenských hradů, Praha 2007.
Sypek A., Sypek.R., Zamki i obiekty warowne Słowacji Wschodniej, Warszawa 2005.
Wasielewski A., Zamki i zamczyska Słowacji, Białystok 2008.