old castle banska stiavnica

The best thing: the proprietors hand you a printed piece of paper and let you wander by yourself. They expect that you will act like an adult and not go where the signs tell you not to.

Impressive how many things they have in there and how many things you can learn about this particular castle. There are guided tours available for a price and if you want it in English you have to pre-book but they had a pocket guide in English showing which way to go and explaining all the things around and also had the historical background of each room and item. I appreciated that!

Great castle midway through renovating. Lots of steps and steep climbs but worth the effort for the views alone.

Clamber up and down steps in this church-turned fortress which kept the Turks at bay for 150 years. Great views. Don't miss the bells in the tower or the blacksmith shop, which is in the back left near the well, behind a heavy leather door.

Very impressive old castle, we didn't do the guided tour but just wondered around. Our little girls liked it too, looking for Rapunzel was fun!

The old Castle is the historical heart of the Banska Stiavnica - center of the historical mining. Formally it was a church rebuilt to fortress against the Turkish. Very nice museum collection of tobacco pipes. I summer time the are many good cultural events.

Got the bus from Zvolen euro's 4.20 return. Hourly buses and frequent trains too. 3 euros to enter castle and spent a nice hour wandering about. It is about 20 minute's walk from the bus station on a hill in the town.After finishing here next stop is the New Castle 2.70 euro entry - 2 castles in one day - happy days !!. Remember to knock/ring bell to be let in.

This along with the new castle and Calvary hill is a wonderful place to visit in what is a magical place well off the traditional tourist route in Slovakia. It is a place steeped in history from its past as a gold mining town with wonderful architecture, museums and churches. The old castle consists of a fortified church with massive walls and then the shell of its ancient church. It contains several rooms of displays especially memorable is the one containing the original polychrome sculpture from the calvary hill that can be seen from the castle several kilometres away. They are superb works of art and totally unexpected in this place. Another interesting exhibit in the walls are the torture chambers they leave nothing to the imagination I would not recommend it for young children they are likely to have nightmares!The climb up the tower to view the new castle on an adjoining hill and across to the calvary hill is well worth the effort with its huge bells and clock mechanisms. In all it takes at least half a day to do this wonderful justice. Then to walk back along overlooking the old square where many of the houses are now being restored to their former magnificence is rewarding.Visit this place it is not the easiest of places to walk around because if the hilly terrain but there are many small bars, cafes and restaurants to make it a very pleasurable experience

Having seen many castles and historical buildings I have to say they've done a good job here making guided tours available but offering visitors these self-paced tours. If you enjoy experiencing and learning things in your own time go for it - you get a guide booklet and most of the castle is open for you. My kids were freaking out when I climbed the beams of the bell tower to take some pictures, and we raced together up and down the spiral gothic stairs that seemed to have gone forever..! Priceless..!

I really liked this castle, it also helped that it wasn't too busy so you could walk around at you own pace. You can go up the bell tower and see the old huge bells, and the view across the town - beautiful. Statues, pictures, grave stones in the wall - also make up this interesting well worth the effort place to visit.

A clear English description of the history and artifacts were provided for our self tour. Interesting that this fortification was originally a church.

This small castle has all the elements to enthral an overseas visitor from a place that has no castles (eg Australians). Ask for the English guidepages at the ticket desk. The outer wall has a wooden walk you can go on and the inside has some interesting history, statues and rooms- much of it is ruined but there is still enough to see. Climb up the tower near the entrance. Don't miss the displays of iron work in the rooms of the back corner small wall tower- there is a blacksmith and huge bellows in the basement display, lots of different lanterns in the roof chamber. The dungeons are one of the more interesting things as it isn't common to have such access or detailed information. The iron grave markers near the bell are pretty interesting too. Totally worth a visit. And because it is small, you won't bet tired or overloaded by the time you finish.

When staying in Banska, the walk up to the the Old Castle is a must. If you are not an architecture lover, you should at least visit if for the views. The entrance fee is up to the quality of renovation and attractions within. What I like mosted is the option to walk the walls of the castle!!!

renovated castle with interesting historical exhibition and famous musical performances in summer time

Very nice castle at the top of the town, with good English language info. Nice to wander around and lovely to go up the bell tower for views over the town.