Kežmarok castle

The dominant of the town Kežmarok is the Castle  Kežmarský hrad that has entered the history of tourism in the High Tatras as the salient point of the first known tourist trip to this mountain range.

The urban compound of the castle originated in 1463. It was built with the aim to defend the town on the site of the medieval community of Svätá Alžbeta (St. Elisabeth). Built originally by Imrich and Ján Zápoľský in the Gothic style, much stress was laid on the defensive nature of the castle building including thick walls and massive bastions. The castle gained its contemporary Renaissance form after extensive rebuilding which proceeded  in various stages in the years 1572, 1575, 1583, and 1624. The last phase was completed by Šebastián Thököly, the founder of the famous family, who invited renowned Italian stonemasons, bricklayers and painters to change the original stronghold into a representative family mansion. The buildings in the castle courtyard were equipped with Renaissance arcades, its sumptuous halls were adorned with wall paintings, and the interior of the castle chapel was renewed in the Early-Baroque style.

Curiosity and courage were properties the noble Princess Beata Laská of Kežmarok Castle certainly possessed. Otherwise she would never have set out on a trip accompanied by several burghers from Kežmarok to the not too distant Snow Mountains (today called the Tatras) in 1565. When the princess returned three days later, after having visited Zelené pleso lake, her angry husband was waiting for her at the gate of the castle. He decided to have the Princess interned in the strongest tower where she passed six long years in extremely hard conditions. The only relief for the unfortunate princess was that the tower had two small windows, one overlooking her beloved Snow Mountains, and the other through which she was given food.

In 1931, the first exposition of the regional Museum of Kežmarok was opened in a part of the castle compound. After general repairs to the castle that took place in the years 1962-1985, its collections were expanded. Visitors can see many expositions and theatre performances in summer nights at the Castle.

Nestville park

One of decisive reasons why the idea to build this tourist attraction originated was a significant discovery in the extramural settlement of the castle of Ľubovniansky hrad. The discovery was gradually supplemented with historical documents and artifacts showing that the oldest preserved distillery in Slovakia, built in the middle of the 18th century, was located in Stará Ľubovňa. The distillery is also mentioned in the description of the Ľubovňa castle in the Hungarian geographic dictionary dated from 1851. The base of the old distillery has been lying under the castle until now and apparently it is the oldest preserved object of this kind in the territory of Slovakia. Nestville Park is a gate to knowing one of the most picturesque corners of Slovakia.

Our aim is to catch up on the intellectual property and traditions of people from the northern Spiš region and in this way to preserve it for future generations. In addition to learning about the history of the region and its most important events, we would also like to show you exhibitions of historical events which have significantly influenced the production of spirits as well as any related crafts in the northern Spiš region.

At the end of the exhibition visitors may see a spirits-tasting room which is a brilliant work of art of local woodcarvers. There is the biggest carved picture in Europe which took 3 years to be made and it forms the heart of the whole exhibition. Visit to the room is accompanied by a small surprise – a special reward - tasting of a unique drink produced by the company.