Červený Kameň Castle

Why visit

Červený Kameň rises on a rock above the village of Píla in the Small Carpathians. It began as a medieval royal castle guarding the western border of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In the 16th century the Fugger family rebuilt it as a Renaissance fortress with huge cellars, and the Pálffy family later turned it into a richly decorated residence. Today it is a branch of the Slovak National Museum.

What to see

• Noble interiors: furnished salons, bedrooms and dining rooms, the chapel, pharmacy and weapons cabinet show aristocratic life from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
• Sala terrena: the ground-floor hall with rich stucco and painted decoration by the Italian master J. Tencalla.
• Fortress and cellars: the longer tour adds the Renaissance bastion system and some of the largest castle cellars in Central Europe.

Plan your visit

The castle is visited on guided tours only. The short tour of the residence takes about an hour; the long tour, which adds the fortress and cellars, about 75 minutes.

Tours start at set times, so plan your arrival around the timetable; groups book in advance. The cellars are cool, so bring a layer.

There is a café and a large car park at the castle. The wine villages of the Small Carpathian Wine Route are close by.