History
The medieval Rudno castle stood on the Hradok hill, directly east of the village of Rudno nad Hronom. Its location enabled strategic control of the Hron valley and the road leading through it. Rudno was probably a knight’s castle, and its creation and disappearance date back to the 13th century. Perhaps the initiative to build it came from the hands of the noble family of Kalná, which acquired the surrounding lands in 1283, although the lack of mention of the castle in documents from that year may also indicate that it did not function than anymore.
Architecture
The castle’s plan was in the shape of an elongated oval measuring approximately 70 x 21 meters. It consisted of external fortifications, the main stone perimeter defensive wall, a square tower on the east side and a residential building on the other side of the courtyard. The tower was 9.8 x 9.8 meters in size and protected the gate next to it. A water tank was cut in the middle of the courtyard, and a second tank was located on the smaller courtyard on the west side of the residential building. An additional earth-stone rampart ran around the wall, probably reinforced with a palisade. The road to the castle led from the west to the north-east, where it turned at the bulge of the embankment and reached the main walls of the castle.
Current state
The castle has not survived to modern times. Apart from three small fragments of walls, only the foundations were uncovered during archaeological excavations. Entrance to the former castle area is free.
bibliography:
Bóna M., Plaček M., Encyklopedie slovenských hradů, Praha 2007.
Wasielewski A., Zamki i zamczyska Słowacji, Białystok 2008.