Hi I wrote this post in Slovak and English language.
I wanted to take a close look at this manor for a while now, but I never got around to it. I know that it has a beautiful garden and that it is maintained by rather unconventional caretakers.
It’s a lovely summer day, and today is my mom’s name day. She invited us to a restaurant for a celebratory lunch. We drove for about half an hour to Salaš, where the kids can see farm animals. They raise sheep, chickens, and rabbits here. We spent about an hour feeding the sheep before moving on. We are heading to the nearby village of Hodkovce. This is where the manor we will visit today is located.
I park in the area. As soon as I parked, a man approached us. He explained where we could go, what we could see, and where we could have coffee or something else to refresh ourselves. It was a nice welcome.
We head towards the garden. It’s the middle of summer, and all the flowers in the French garden are beautifully in bloom. It’s an enchanting sight.
The old manor in the background adds a unique atmosphere to the scene.
This Baroque-Classical manor was built by Štefan Csáky in 1702. Later, his descendants renovated it and created a magnificent French park. They had furniture and equipment transferred to the manor from the nearby Spiš Castle, which they owned.
The castle was not comfortable enough and no longer served its purpose as a representative residence. The lords sought comfort and luxury, which the manor in Hodkovce provided. Additionally, Spiš Castle burned down in 1780. Some theories suggest that the owners may have set it on fire themselves to avoid paying high taxes on it.
We continue our walk along the path to the old ruins in the middle of the grove. The remnants of the walls are overgrown with old trees. It has a peculiar, mysterious character. It contrasts with the colorful garden behind us.
These goats take care of mowing the grass. It’s very clever. The goats graze on the grass, so people don’t have to mow it, and they also get healthy goat milk.
There is also a chapel and a cemetery for the Csáky family in the park. It’s a pleasant walk. A quiet place where there aren’t many tourists.
Today, the manor is used as a social services facility. There is social tourism here, which I really like. People with intellectual disabilities are integrated into society to the extent possible. They take care of the manor, guide visitors, sell products they’ve made, and serve in the cafe.
At the end of our walk, we stopped for coffee. My mom, my two children, and I. My mom ordered coffee and picked out some candies to give to the kids. Just then, the waiter brought our coffee. He was a resident of the facility. He smiled and waited. He was waiting to see if we would offer him some candies too. We offered him, and he was very pleased. After a while, he came back to the table and asked if we still had any candies. It took so little to make him very happy.
I believe that projects like this make a lot of sense. They help bridge the world of people with intellectual disabilities with real life and with healthy people. It’s not just that they learn from us; I believe we also have a lot to learn from them. They have a different perspective on the world and life. It’s definitely simpler, and as the saying goes, “there is beauty in simplicity.” Sometimes, very little is needed to be happy, and there’s no need to complicate life unnecessarily.
Thank you.
Ahoj.
Na tento kaštieľ som sa chcel ísť z blízka pozrieť už skôr, no nikdy mi to nevyšlo. Viem o tom, že má peknú záhradu a starajú sa o ňu nie úplne typický kasteláni.
Je pekný letný deň a moja mamka má dnes meniny. Pozvala nás do reštaurácie na slávnostný obed. Išli sme autom asi pol hodinu, na Salaš, kde sa deti môžu ísť pozrieť na domáce zvieratá. Chovajú tu ovce, sliepky, či zajace. Asi hodinu sme kŕmili ovečky a potom sa vydali ďalej. Smerujeme do neďalekej dediny Hodkovce. Práve tu sa nachádza kaštieľ, ktorý si dnes pozrieme.
Parkujem v areály. Len, čo som zaparkoval prišiel ku nám jeden pán. Vysvetlil nám, kam môžeme ísť, čo si tu môžeme pozrieť a kde si môžeme dať kávu, alebo niečo iné na osvieženie. Je to milé privítanie.
Naše kroky smerujú na záhradu. Sme uprostred leta a všetky kvety vo francúzskej záhrade sú krásne rozkvitnuté. Je to očarujúci pohľad.
Starý kaštieľ v pozadí dodáva snímke neopakovateľnú atmosféru.
Tento barokovo-klasicistický kaštieľ postavil Štefan Csáky v roku 1702. Neskôr ho jeho potomkovia ešte prestavali a vybudovali nádherný francúzsky park. Do kaštieľa nechali previesť nábytok a vybavenie s neďalekého Spišského hradu, ktorý vlastnili.
Hrad nebol dostatočne pohodlný a nespĺňal už účel reprezentačného sídla. Páni hľadali pohodlie a prepych a ten im poskytol kaštieľ v Hodkovciach. Navyše Spišský hrad v roku 1780 vyhorel. Niektoré teórie pripúšťajú možnosť, že ho podpálili majitelia, aby z neho nemuseli odvádzať vysoké dane.
V prechádzke pokračujeme po chodníku k starým zrúcaninám uprostred lesíka. Stopy múrov sú obrastené starými stromami. Má to zvláštny, tajomný charakter. Je to v kontraste s farebnou záhradou za nami.
O kosenie trávy sa starajú tieto kozy. Je to veľmi šikovné. Kozy spásajú trávu, ktorú ľudia nemusia kosiť a navyše dostanú zdravé kozie mlieko.
V parku sa nachádza aj kaplnka a cintorín rodiny Csákyovcov. Je to príjemná prechádzka. Tiché miesto, kde sa nenachádza veľa turistov.
V súčasnosti je kaštieľ využívaný ako zariadenie sociálnych služieb. Funguje tu sociálny turizmus, čo sa mi veľmi páči. Ľudia s mentálnym postihnutím sú v rámci ich možností začlenení do spoločnosti. Starajú sa o tento kaštieľ, sprevádzajú návštevníkov, predávajú výrobky ktoré vyrobili, či obsluhujú v kaviarni.
Na záver našej prechádzky sme sa zastavili na kávu. Ja, moja mamka a dve deti. Mamka si objednala kávu a vybrala cukríky, ktoré dala deťom. V tom nám priniesol čašník kávu. Bol to obyvateľ tohto zariadenia. Usmial sa a čakal. Čakal, či aj jeho ponúkneme s cukríkmi. Ponúkli sme ho a veľmi sa potešil. Po nejakom čase prišiel k stolu opäť a spýtal sa, či ešte máme cukríky. Tak málo stačilo, aby sme mu urobili veľkú radosť.
Takéto projekty majú podľa mňa veľký zmysel. Pomáhajú prepojiť svet mentálne postihnutých ľudí s reálnym životom a so zdravými ľuďmi. Nie len oni sa učia od nás, ale myslím si, že ešte aj my sa máme čo učiť od nich. Majú iný pohľad na svet a na život. Určite je jednoduchší a ako sa hovorí v jednoduchosti je krása. Niekedy k šťastiu stačí veľmi málo a netreba si život zbytočne komplikovať.
Ďakujem
Wow it's so beautiful
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Lovely castle but the garden conquered my heart forever, lol. It just looks flawless!
I agree :)
Wow, ancient places always amaze me. I always wonder how they looked in their heydays. Probably there were happening some twisted unsolved stories. I also wanted to say that the cover photo of the post is amazing.
Thank you :). It would be very interesting to go back in time and look at such a castle or chateau. I'd like to see it too. I think that the estate certainly filled its time with intrigues in addition to banquets and hunting.