Krásna Hôrka

Krásna Hôrka (Hungarian: Krasznahorka) is an originally Gothic castle in Slovakia, towering over the neighboring municipality of Krásnohorské Podhradie (about six kilometers east of Rožňava) (Košice region). The first written mention of this building dates from 1333. Krásna Hôrka is now a national cultural monument that serves as a museum. In the castle you can see an original castle kitchen, historical sound instruments, ancient furniture and paintings. The naturally mummified body of Countess Žofia Serédy lies in state in the chapel of this castle. She was the wife of a former lord of the castle.

March 10, 2012: fire

Over the centuries, important Hungarian families, most notably: Máriássy, Ákos, Bebek and Andrássy, were in charge of the castle.

The more than 600-year-old fort was reopened to the public in 2011 after extensive restoration, but burned down soon after, on March 10, 2012, due to dry grass catching fire. The roof of the castle was completely destroyed. Ten percent of the historical collection was lost and three bells melted.

Naming

The name Krásna Hôrka literally means "beautiful mountain":

Slovak : krásna - beautiful,

Czech : hora - mountain.

History

A family museum of the Andrássy family has been set up in the castle. Worth seeing are the very old furniture and paintings.

Ancient interior.

The current fortress probably stands on the site of an old fortified fortress, of which the Máriássy family is known as one of the first owners. In 1241, that old fortress offered protection to King Béla IV in his fight against the Tatars. In that year, on April 11, 1241, Ernye Ákos saved the life of King Béla IV at the battle of Mohi and in the course of the same year, the king bestowed extensive landed properties on the said family.

A new fortress was built in the 13th century by the brothers Filip and Detre Szárs Ákos, both children of the 1241 favored Ákos family. Its construction aimed to secure the trade route leading from Transylvania through Košice to Spiš and present-day Poland, passing the mining areas of the Slovak Ore Mountains. The Ákos family continued to inhabit this castle from the time of its donation. About a century later, in 1352, the fortress came under the rule of the Bebek family.

In 1441 the fortress was occupied by the army of the Czech strategist János Jiskra (1400–1469). Afterwards, it came back under the control of the Bebek family.

The threat of a Turkish invasion and the disagreement with Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564) forced František Bebek in 1546 to strengthen and enlarge the castle after a project by the Italian architect Alessandro da Vedano. Ten years later, in 1556, the troops of Ferdinand I besieged the fortress, but without success. A year later, in 1567, both the Bebek couple and their son died almost simultaneously, with the result that the family died out. Therefore, the emperor could again freely dispose of the castle.

Around 1574-1578, Emperor Rudolf II placed the fortress under the management of the Hungarian Péter Andrássy who soon (from 1578 to 1585) made renovations in Renaissance style. Since then, the Andrássy family has maintained the administration. Later, in 1642, this kinship acquired the actual property through a deed of donation, which opened the way for a gradual conversion into an aristocratic residence, with all the elements of an ingenious defense. Nevertheless, the army succeededof Imre Thököly managed to annex the castle in 1678, but in 1685 Thököly's envoy lifted the siege.

During Rákóczi's Rebellion, from 1703 onwards, five brothers of the Andrássy family (István, György, Pál, Miklós and Mátyás) joined the Kuruc revolutionaries and rebelled against the Habsburg Emperor. Only Péter Andrássy maintained his loyalty to the monarch. As a result, in the autumn of 1706, he was briefly held hostage in the castle by the insurgents. In 1710 the occupation of the stronghold ended and a renovation soon followed, simultaneously with that of the Betliar Castle, which was owned by Štefan Andrássy.

In 1729, a Latin annual poem was placed above the entrance gate, with the following text:

Chronogram above the entrance gate of the castle. Because the text is chiseled in capital letters, the artist renders the significant signs in a red color.

"V T T V T I OR S I T PORTA POS V ERE FRATRES S V B M A J ORAT V BARON I S FRAN C IS C I ANDRASS I"

(Our brothers can shelter behind the gate under the care of the great Baron Francis Andrassi)

Initially there was no prayer room with an altar in the building. For this reason, a chapel in Baroque style was realized in 1770 by rebuilding the cannon bastion.

Following a lightning strike in 1817, fire broke out in the oldest parts of the castle, but the necessary repairs were carried out and the complex remained intact until the 2012 fire.

Under the impulse of Dionysius Andrássy (1835–1913) and his wife Františka Hablawetzová (1838–1902), a family museum was housed in the building during the second half of the 19th century. After the death of his wife in 1902, Dionysius had the castle renovated between 1903 and 1906. From 1906 he opened it again to the public. Dionysius Andrássy was no longer young then and died himself in 1913, with the result that Countess Pallavicini became the owner.

Following the Beneš decrees (1945), the Czechoslovak state nationalized the entire fortress in 1948, after which it was classified as a national cultural asset.

Pilgrimage site

Interior of the chapel.

The naturally mummified body of Countess Žofia Serédy lies in state in the chapel.

The chapel has become a place of pilgrimage for believers. They come to see an old statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, dating from 1739.

Fire of 2012

On Saturday afternoon, March 10, 2012, a large fire raged, affecting certain parts of the building, in particular:

the entire roof structure,

the oldest (Gothic) part of the building,

part of the Renaissance palace.

Gyula Andrássy's collection of weapons and three bells in the bell tower were lost. Emergency services, including an army helicopter, soon arrived to extinguish the fire, but the fire burned for six hours. The cause was a grass fire on the mountain slope that spread to the wooden roof tiles.

The next day a strong wind rekindled a hidden smoldering fire. This second calamity caused a crack in the ceiling of the great council chamber, as a retaining wall had been blown down by the storm wind. The council chamber contained furniture hundreds of years old.

Neither the lower part of the castle, nor the Franciska collection in the middle part, nor the crypt, nor the chapel were affected by the fire. According to the then Slovak Minister of Culture Daniel Krajcer, 90% of the collection remained undamaged. She was temporarily transferred to other museums. The castle was insured for €11.6 million. The cost of the renovation was estimated at €15 million.

After the fire, the roofs were repaired as a priority and also covered with copper plate.

Also see

Andrássy

Krasnohorske Podhradie

Krasnohorska Dlha Luka

External link

(en) Official website

Sources

(de) This article or an earlier version of it is a (partial) translation of the Burg Krásna Hôrka article on the German Wikipedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike. See edit history there.

(sk) This article or an earlier version of it is a (partial) translation of the Krásna Hôrka article on the Slovak Wikipedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike . See edit history there.

(hu) This article or an earlier version of it is a (partial) translation of the Krasznahorka vára article on the Hungarian Wikipedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike. See edit history there.

( it ) Article: Castello di Krásna Hôrka

( cs ) Article: Krásna Hôrka