Smolenice Castle

The Little Carpathians area offers several sights. One of them is Smolenice Castle, one of the most romantic buildings in Slovakia. Its reconstruction imitates castles in France.

Smolenice Castle was built on the site of an old guard castle from the 14th century. Castle guarded the border mountain pass between Slovakia and the Czech lands.

At present it is the seat of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) – a congress center, and throughout the year there are a number of scientific conferences and symposia.

Every Saturday it is possible to see newlywed couples in the chateau premises, which use it as a great place for taking pictures or shooting a wedding video.

Opening hours

Smolenice Castle is open to the public in the summer months of July and August, every day from 10.00 am. to 18.00 hrs. Entry – every hour.

The main and the only entrance, which is between the third and fourth bastion, we get to the courtyard of the castle. The staircase leads to a smaller courtyard, from which the entrance to the boiler room in the bastion and the large maze of underground corridors and cellars. From the main courtyard it is possible to turn left, to a smaller and lower courtyard.

Castle Park

The romantic atmosphere of the castle is enhanced by the surrounding park, which gradually turns into a dense forest. An extensive English park, which was followed by the Pállfi family. The park was established around 1895 for the rest of the chateau’s inhabitants.

When designing the park, garden architects were inspired by Scottish and English forest parks. Directly across the park to the castle will lead you a comfortable asphalt road, which was built in one night. This was due to the visit of the then most powerful man of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev.

With the setting sun, the castle and the surrounding park are transformed into a truly romantic place suitable for a declaration of love.