It will be 700 years since the death of the most famous owner of Trenčín Castle in March. In 2021, the events in the former seat of Matúš Čák will be marked by this anniversary. However, no celebrations have been planned at and around the castle in recent months, and there is still some research going on. So visitors can look forward to more news.

Celtic burial ground

Archaeologists have found a Celtic burial ground about 2,200 years old in the Brezina Forest Park in Trenčín, dating back to the Late Iron Age. They got a lot of fragments of ceramics, glass or small cubes, which our ancestors threw at the so-called light bulb.

"We discovered it during the reconstruction of the road that will lead to the castle. We came across an anomaly, which was this ditch, and so we also came across the sacrificial site, "explains Juraj Malec, head of research at the Trenčín Museum. The sacrifice itself was of religious significance to the Celts. For the museologists, the most precious are metal objects, jewelry, ceramic and two sculptures in the shape of human heads. The Trenčín Museum would like to exhibit some of the findings and bring them closer to the general public next year.

Trebuchet from the students' workshop

Trenčín Castle has a new attraction. The general public will probably call it a catapult, but it is a trebuchet (read trebušé). The wooden colossus was created under the hands of students of the Secondary Vocational School in Považská Bystrica. Future carpenters made a replica of a historic siege weapon, which they used in the Middle Ages across Hungary.

"The shoulder is thrown and a projectile whose task was to destroy is fired. Stone balls, untreated stones were used as projectiles, and there are records that dead animals, heads of human enemies, but also excrement were also used, ”explained Tomáš Michalík from the Trenčín Museum. "It simply came to our notice then. And I have to admit, we never once had to rework anything and a test shot came out, “praised his charges, the master of vocational education Roman Suchár.

Together with the students, he came to escort the six-meter trebuchet to the southern fortifications of Matúš Čák's castle. From now on, visitors can admire him there, and if you are lucky, you will occasionally see him in a "work deployment" when he is shot.

Georadar scanned the castle

At a time when visitors could not get to Trenčín Castle due to the current situation, georadar castle "crossed" the castle. The management of the museum wanted to find out the archaeological potential of the castle. A two-wheeled scanner passed through the lower courtyard, the Ilešház buildings and the area of the Manor Chapel. "With this non-destructive method, we want to find possible new walls, cellars or other buildings," presents the plans of the Trenčín Museum by its director Peter Martinisko.

Georadar operator Miroslav Terray describes their work as a kind of vanguard that effectively directs archeology to a specific place. He can then dig there. "Archaeologists will receive input information, maps and the rest. Georadar takes vertical images, then connects them on a computer and creates an area map, we call it a time snapshot of what is below us. "

Today, the space of the lower courtyard is used to gather tourists, performances and mini markets. In the past, however, there were probably outbuildings or blacksmith workshops. "It is difficult to say to what extent these buildings had stone foundations, whether they were stone or wooden buildings at all. And it is the georadar survey that can give us answers to these questions as well, “Tomáš Michalík from the Trenčín Museum explained the intention. According to older archaeological research, for example, there should be a crypt in the building of the Manor Chapel.

Church weddings already in the castle

Wedding brides were not easy in 2020. Instead of rejoicing, they listened to stressful information about postponing weddings, the dangers of transmitting coronavirus, and so on. Trenčín Castle will now compensate them for a number of negative reports with one positive one.

At Matúš Čák's castle, church marriages can also take place in civilian times. At the end of September 2020, the representatives of the three churches blessed the cross in the Manor Chapel. "The chapel itself is not consecrated. The location of the cross is a visibility of the space, which in the past was a Gothic chapel, a place of prayers, prayers and thanksgiving to God, "says guide Ján Žovinec, who came up with the idea to return the chapel to its original purpose. Until recently, there were pens for dogs.

photo: Stanislav Hladký