Spisky Hrad in Slovakia
Spis Castle (13th century) in eastern Slovakia is one of the largest Medieval castles in central Europe.
The earliest occupation on the site dates back to as early as the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC), and it was subsequently occupied in the Bronze Age and in the 1st century AD, when a fortified settlement was built there, serving as the political and administrative centre of the contemporary Puchov people. It was also fortified during the Great Moravian Period (9th century AD).
Construction of the present castle began in the early 12th century, but the original structure collapsed, having been built on a geological fault. The present castle was built in the first half of the 13th century, as a defence against Tatar incursions from the east. The Romanesque palace was completed in 1249 and the keep in 1270. Following severe damage from the armies of Matthias Cak in the early 14th century it was rebuilt in the Gothic style and extended by the addition of a large settlement with its own access gate. Additions were made in the 15th century, and major emergency repairs had to be carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries. It served as a garrison until 1780 when it was abandoned after a disastrous fire and left to subside into ruins.
The town of Spiske Podhradie was founded as a settlement in the 12th century, at the base of the castle mound, which was already fortified at that time, but it quickly became independent of the castle. The first church, destroyed in a Tatar raid, was rebuilt in Romanesque style in 1258-73, probably by the same Italian masons who constructed the first castle. It was granted town privileges in 1321 and became an important textile centre for its large Saxon community during the 15th century, when much of the town was reconstructed and fortified, but it fell into economic decline after the Reformation. The street pattern was laid out formally in the 14th century and extended in the 15th century. Following a fire in the 16th century most of the houses were rebuilt in Renaissance style.
Spiska Rapitula began as a small fortified settlement in the 12th century overlooking Spiske Podhradie, of which it now forms part. It was the site of the residence of the Provost of the castle, in the no longer extant St Martin's monastery, and later became a capitulary. This was destroyed in by Tatars in 1241-3, but the pilgrim's chapel, in rotunda form and dedicated to the Virgin, survived until the 18th century and the monastery until the 15th century. Building of the cathedral began in 1285 as a three-aisled Romanesque basilica with a chancel at the west end and a double spire. The Provost's residence was completed in 1281 and further religious buildings were added. Frequent raids by marauding Bulgars and others led to its being fortified in the 14th century. The cathedral was rebuilt in the later 14th century. In 1776 it became the residence of the Bishop and four years later a seminary was established. In 1819 the first teacher training centre in Hungary was founded there.
Zebra is one of the earliest Slovak settlements in the region. In the later feudal period it formed part of the castle domain, with a manor in the village. The Church of the Holy Spirit was largely built after 1275.
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