Ľubovňa Castle

Ľubovňa Castle (Slovak: Ľubovniansky hrad, Hungarian: Lubló vára, Polish: Zamek Lubowelski) is a medieval castle located in the city of Stará Ľubovňa in Slovakia. The castle was built in the late 13th century, when the territory belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. The first written mention dates back to the year 1311.^[1][2] In 1412, King Sigismund of Hungary and King Władysław Jagiellon of Poland met at the castle and signed a pact of friendship and peace.^[1][3]

The castle is now partly a ruin and partly rebuilt. The preserved rooms house a museum. The castle chapel houses a permanent exhibition of copies of the Polish crown jewels, the originals of which were kept there during the Swedish Deluge. Below the castle is the Museum of Folk Architecture of the Spiš Region, which is an open-air museum.^[1] Within the conserved section of the castle lies a museum that features a historical exhibition, a display of period furniture and weaponry. The castle houses an exhibition room that hosts seasonal exhibitions. Some rooms retain barrel and Prussian vaults, while an underground torture chamber has also been preserved.^[4]

Since 1312, the castle has been a royal property, as it was occupied by a military unit protecting the interests of King Charles I of Hungary. Therefore, from that year onwards, the royal castellans, who were appointed to this function by the king himself, resided there. The royal castellans administered the castle and the castle estates (manor) for the king, managed the economy, kept the castle running, administered justice and were in charge of securing the castle and its supplies.^[5]

In the last decades of the 14th century, the castle above Stará Ľubovňa gained importance, as it was located in the border area. As early as 1384, an important meeting took place at the castle. The Brandenburg Margrave Sigismund of Luxembourg and representatives of the important Polish nobility visited the castle to resolve the issue of Sigismund's campaign into the territory of Poland. Sigismund wanted to obtain the Polish crown, which he did not succeed in. From 1387, Sigismund of Luxembourg became the King of Hungary. During this period, the castle often hosted members of the Hungarian royal family. In the summer of 1392, Mary, Queen of Hungary stayed at the castle in Ľubovňa, and in 1396, her husband, Sigismund. The rule of Sigismund of Luxembourg was characterized by frequent donations of large territories as a deposit. As a result of the frequent mortgage of entire territories, the castle above Ľubovňa thus fell into the hands of the nobility again. In 1399, the castle became the property of the nobleman Nicholas Horváth de Lubló. The castle did not remain in his possession for long, because in 1403 he joined the uprising of the Hungarian nobles against the king. The castle was taken away from Nicholas and returned to the hands of the royal office. From 1408, the castle was acquired by Emeric Perényi, who was the personal chancellor of Sigismund of Luxembourg. Emeric Perényi owned a large castle estate with the towns of Stará Ľubovňa and Podolínec. It was in the town of Podolínec that Emeric was credited with building a city castle at the western gate of the town in 1410.^{[2][5][6][7][8]}

In the 1655, during the invasions of Poland–Lithuania, (also known as the Swedish Deluge) the Swedish won one battle after another until they reached the city of Kraków. At Wawel Castle, the Polish crown jewels were stored in the treasury, along with other parts of the royal treasury and important documents.^[2][3] Due to the approaching enemies, it was necessary to move the crown jewels, the royal treasury and documents to safety, therefore, the administrator of the royal treasury, in the presence of seven senators, opened the treasury at Wawel, the mayor of Spiš and the Polish crown hetman ensured the transport of the crown jewels to Ľubovňa Castle, where they were hidden for the next six years.^[3][9] The castle contained jewels and documents until 1661, after which they were returned to Poland.^[1][3][10]

In 1768, adventurer and later king of Madagascar, Maurice Benyovszky, was imprisoned in the castle. The last private owner of Ľubovňa Castle was Jan Kanty Zamoyski, who married the Spanish infanta Princess Isabel Alfonsa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. They lived in the castle until 1944.^[1][5][8]

The Ľubovňa Museum (formerly the District Museum of Local History) was founded in 1956. It was first located in the Provincial House on St. Nicholas Square, and since 1966 it has been located below the Ľubovňa Castle.^[11][12] Since its foundation, the museum has been collecting historical, ethnographic, artistic and natural science collections. It focuses on the area of Stará Ľubovňa. Ľubovňa Castle In northern Spiš, Ľubovňa Castle rises above the Poprad River valley with a rich history and architecture.^[11][13] Although it originally served as a guard of the northern border of Hungary, for 360 years it was the seat of the administrators of the territory of the Spiš part of Poland.^[1][11][14]

• List of castles in Slovakia