This massive round castle keep or donjon dates from the early 1200s, has walls four meters thick and rises high above the curtain walls of Spiš Castle, a formidable fortress in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia built by Hungarian kings. It became the largest fortified complex in Central Europe, withstood a Tartar siege in 1241 and is now the centre of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Spiš Castle, Košice Region, eastern Slovakia: this tapering cylindrical tower was built as a residential keep or donjon in the early 1200s as the kings of Hungary rebuilt, enlarged and massively strengthened the original fortifications on the top of a travertine limestone spur rising 200m (650 ft) above the surrounding countryside. The tower stands in a central position within the ruined curtain walls and other buildings in the upper courtyard of the fortress. It is about 22 meters or 72 feet in diameter, with limestone rubble walls four meters (13 ft) thick. Spiš Castle or Spišský hrad was once a formidable fortress, the largest in Central Europe, and was strongly defended with an outer palisade, ditches, soaring curtain walls, towers and bastions. It survived a Tartar siege in 1241 and was then involved in further armed conflicts as noble owners rebelled against the monarchy and fought each other for the right to own it. In the late 1600s, however, the castle’s last private owners moved to a more comfortable home and in 1780, the site was abandoned after a disastrous fire. It then suffered many decades of neglect. A restoration programme launched in 1969 led to the castle and its environs being granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1993. Extensive archaeological research has been carried out at the site and the fortress is now a popular visitor attraction.
Size: 2592px × 3868px
Location: Spiš Castle or Spišský hrad, Košice Region, Slovakia.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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