Hi, I wrote this post in English and Slovak language
Today we went on a trip to the historic town of Kežmarok. There are many things in this town worth seeing. We are going to visit the Kežmarok Castle, a fortress that has protected this town in the Spiš region for many years. My two small children are coming with me. I have a feeling that entertainment is guaranteed.
Kežmarok Castle is a town castle, so you won't find it on a high hill. It is located in the center of the town, on the pedestrian zone. We leave our car in one of the parking lots and walk through the square to the main gate.
The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1447. At that time, the castle housed the Jiskra's garrison.
The castle has been rebuilt several times and has also burned down several times throughout its existence. However, it was always repaired and given a new look.
In 1510, a shooting club was established in Kežmarok. Competitions were held to find the best shooter, and they shot at these kinds of targets.
The most famous owner of the castle was Count Imrich Thököly. The leader of the anti-Habsburg uprising against the Holy Roman Emperor, the King of Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia, Leopold I, was born and raised here.
One could say that the uprising began in 1672 when the Kuruc army invaded Eastern Slovakia from Transylvania. With the support of Poland and France, the rebels seized most of Slovakia. Later, French and Polish support for the rebels ended, and they allied with the Ottoman Empire. Besides a few fortresses in Western Slovakia, the rebels occupied all of Slovakia, and in 1682, Sultan Mehmed IV crowned Imrich Thököly as the king of Central Hungary.
Everything changed in the Battle of Vienna. The Ottoman army lost and had to retreat. Imrich Thököly tried to ally with the anti-Ottoman coalition but was unsuccessful. After losing the battle at Štúrovo, the Kurucs focused only on defense. Additionally, Polish troops invaded the rebel territory, plundering places, including Kežmarok. Imrich Thököly fled to Izmir, where he died.
Since 1702, the castle has been owned by the town of Kežmarok. Its significance declined from that time. The town used it primarily for economic purposes.
The castle has many interesting rooms. One of them is this pharmacy. This is what it looked like in the past when you were sick and went to get medicine.
Doctor Vojtech Alexander also worked in Kežmarok. As the first doctor in Slovakia, he obtained an X-ray machine. Using it, he took X-ray images and significantly contributed to the discovery of X-rays with his research. Unfortunately, he regularly X-rayed his pregnant wife. Because of this, they had a disabled child. The doctor was unaware of the negative effects at that time.
This part of the exhibition at the castle captivated me because I love hiking. Beata Laska, a pioneer of high-altitude hiking, lived in Kežmarok Castle. The local nature enchanted her, and in 1565, she organized the first documented hike in history to the High Tatras, to the Green Lake. Townspeople accompanied her.
However, this trip did not end well. Her husband, Albert Lasky, did not understand the purpose of this trip. He accused her of immorality and had her walled up in the castle tower. She lived there for six years until the castle changed owners. She was insane when the new owner found her. She died shortly after.
During World War II, the Gestapo used the castle's thick walls for protection. Several partisans were executed in the castle's premises.
We exit the tour into the courtyard. However, we are not planning to go home yet. There is an exhibition of old cars at the castle. I can't miss this with my children.
The exhibition isn't large, but there are beautiful pieces here. For example, this fire truck.
Or this old fire engine.
Isn't this car beautiful? The Praga Alfa was first produced in 1913 and gradually modified and improved. This type started production in 1927. I would love to take a ride in it.
Today's trip was engaging, and we learned a lot of new things. It seems that I wrote quite a bit. I wanted to bring you the castle's atmosphere and interesting facts as comprehensively as possible.
Thank you.
Ahoj,
Dnes sme sa vybrali na výlet do historického mesta Kežmarok. V tomto meste je toho viac, čo by stálo za to vidieť. My sa ideme pozrieť na Kežmarský hrad, na pevnosť, ktorá dlhé roky bránila toto mesto ležiace na Spiši. Na výlet so mnou idú aj moje dve malé deti. Mám taký pocit, že o zábavu mám postarané.
Kežmarský hrad je mestský hrad a zbytočne by ste ho hľadali na vyvýšenom kopci. Nachádza sa v centre mesta, na pešej zóne. My auto nechávame na jednom z parkovísk a cez námestie prichádzame pred hlavnú bránu.
Prvá písomná zmienka o hrade pochádza z roku 1447. V tom čase na hrade sídlila Jiskrova posádka.
Hrad bol počas svojej existencie niekoľkokrát prestavaný a niekoľkokrát aj vyhorel. Vždy ho však opravili a dali mu nový vzhľad.
V roku 1510 v Kežmarku vznikol strelecký spolok. Súťažilo sa o najlepšieho strelca a strieľalo sa na takéto terče.
Najznámejším majiteľom hradu bol Gróf Imrich Thököly. Práve tu sa narodil a vyrastal vodca protihabsburského povstania proti Cisárovi svätej ríše rímskej, kráľovi Uhier, Čiech a Chorvátska Leopoldovi I.
Dalo by sa povedať, že povstanie začalo v roku 1672 kedy kuruci uskutočnili vpád zo Sedmohradska na Východné slovensko. S podporou Poľska a Francúzska sa povstalci zmocnili väčšiny územia Slovenska. Neskôr podpora Francúzska a Poľska povstalcom skončila a povstalci sa spojili s Osmanskou ríšou. Okrem zopár pevností na Západnom Slovensku obsadili povstalci celé Slovensko a v roku 1682 sultán Mehmed IV. korunoval Imricha Thökölyho za kráľa Stredného Uhorska.
V bitke pri Viedni sa všetko zmenilo. Osmanská armáda prehrala a musela ustúpiť. Imrich Thököly sa snažil spojiť s protiosmanskou koalíciou no neúspešne. Po prehre v bitke pri Štúrove sa kuruci sústredili iba na obranu. Okrem toho poľské vojská vtrhli na povstalecké územie a okrem iných vyrabovali aj Kežmarok. Imrich Thököly ušiel do Izmiru, kde aj zomrel.
Od roku 1702 sa majiteľom hradu stalo mesto Kežmarok. Od tých čias jeho význam upadal. Mesto ho využívalo predovšetkým na hospodárske účely.
Na hrade je množstvo zaujímavých miestností. Jednou z nich je táto lekáreň. Takto nejako to vyzeralo v minulosti, keď ste boli chorý a šli ste si po lieky.
V Kežmarku pôsobil aj doktor Vojtech Alexander. Ako prvý lekár na Slovensku si zaobstaral rontgenovy prístroj. Pomocou neho robil rontgenové snímky a svojím výskumom výrazne prispel k vynálezu X lúčov. Bohuziaľ pravidelne rontgenoval svoju tehotnú manželku. Kvôli tomu sa im narodilo postihnuté dieťa. O negatívnych účinkoch doktor dovtedy nevedel.
*Táto časť výstavy ma na hrade veľmi upútala, nakoľko mám rád turistiku. Na Kežmarskom hrade žila Beata Laska, priekopníčka vysokohorskej turistiky. Tunajšia príroda jej učarovala a ako prvá v histórii zorganizovala v roku 1565 túru do Vysokých Tatier, na Zelené pleso. Spoločnosť jej robili mešťania.
Tento výlet ale neskončil sťastne. Jej manžel Albert Lasky pre tento výlet nemal pochopenie. Obvinil ju z nemravnosti a zamurovali ju v hradnej veži. Tam žila šesť rokov, až kým hrad nezmenil majiteľa. Bola bláznivá, keď ju nový majiteľ hradu našiel. Krátko na to zomrela.*
Počas druhej svetovej vojny využívalo ochranu za hrubými múrmi hradu gestapo. V priestoroch hradu bolo popravených aj niekoľko partizánov.
Z prehliadky vychádzame na nádvorie. Nechystáme sa však ešte domov. Na hrade je výstava starých automobilov. Tú si s deťmi nemôžem nechať ujsť.
Výstava síce nie je veľká, no nachadzajú sa tu krásne kúsky. Ako napríklad toto hasičské auto.
Alebo tento starý hasičský voz.
No povedzte. Nie je to auto krásne? Pragu Alfa začali vyrábať už v roku 1913 a postupne ju modifikovali a vylepšovali. Tento typ sa začal vyrábať v roku 1927. Rád by som sa na ňom previezol.
Dnešný výlet bol pútavý a veľa nového sme sa dozvedeli. Zdá sa mi, že som sa aj celkom rozpísal. Chcel som vám atmosféru hradu a zaujímavosti priniesť v čo najšširšej forme.
Ďakujem
I wish i would visit castles one day.it seems so interesting.
Those rooms look amazing! Maybe they don't have the most beautiful story but they sure look fascinating for the 21st century! As for the story about the woman being walled by her husband, it sounds so familiar! We have a similar case in Romania but where the woman was placed in the structure of a church with the mention that there was no other way to build the church and make it stand still! Crazy, huh?!
Crazy. The Middle Ages was an extremely cruel period.
There was a reason why Beata Lasky was let by her husband. Tourism was just an excuse. He liked to spend money and she had it. She was twenty years older than him. He needed to get rid of her. During the six years that she was imprisoned there, her husband lost all his possessions and also the castle.
That's a crazy story! And when you think that there are still people thinking that 21st century is hard... nope.
The rooms of the castle looks amazing 😍😍
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