In the recent years, many castle ruins in Slovakia are undergoing large reconstructions. This is usually an initiative from the local organisations supported by the funds from the EU. They use traditional methods including bringing all the material up the hill by foot and using medieval tools. It's not an easy job, and it will take years to finish such projects. Furthermore, all the builders are volunteers, so it depends fully on their dedication and passion.
Last week, we visited one of such castles called Zborov. My brother is a member of a medieval club, and they had a performance at the castle, so we joined to see him in action. The castle is located close to Bardejov, and as one of my aunts live there we asked her to join us too. In the end, we went there with my mom, my aunt and Maxo (my mom's dog).
It was a hot day which was a nice change for us because summer in Switzerland was cold and rainy. However, I was not enjoying the change for too long as soon enough I started to feel hot and sweaty, and wished for the weather that we had all the time back home. What a situation!
We parked the car in the village, put on our hiking shoes and off we went. There were two trails and as we were with my mom and my aunt we chose the longer, but less steep one. It was supposed to be 30 minutes to get to the castle. In the beginning, it was all flat and easy until it wasn't...
We walked towards a large meadow which was going up to the forest. Normally, it would be quite easy for me, but it was so hot that I started to get tired and breathless quickly. My mom and my aunt were in the back, and we were walking with Maxo in front of them to find some shade to hide until they catch up with us. Maxo had no issues with the temperature and I'm sure that he had one of the best days of his life.
When I turned around I had to stop for a moment to enjoy the views and catch my breath too...
Finally, we could hide under some trees, so I sat down in grass which is something that I didn't do for years. I assumed that many people walked there with their dogs, so I checked carefully for any 'gifts' left.
Maxo was smiling all the time, and I'm sure that he couldn't wait for us to continue.
Then I had the genius idea of lying down on the grass. It was so nice to observe the clouds. Of course, I checked for the ticks as soon as we arrived back to my aunts place.
It didn't take us long to reach the forest from where it was only a few minutes to get to the castle. We couldn't see our family anymore, so we decided to wait for them there because Maxo didn't want to wait all the time.
We arrived right at the beginning of the event. There were several groups of performers being introduced to the visitors. We stayed outside and ordered some drinks while we waited for our family.
When we arrived we were surprised to see how big the ruins were. The castle is surrounded by tall trees, so you can't really see it when you're at the foot of the hill. From outside of the castle we could already see the progress of the reconstruction as many walls have been rebuilt and some parts even have the roof. The purpose of the reconstruction is not to rebuild the castles, but to protect what is left for the generations to come.
The castle dates back to the 14th century, and its original purpose was to protect the road from Hungary to Poland. There were multiple constructions, such as the palace which we can see here, multiple bastions, and various cellars.
I must admit that medieval performances are not my cup of tea, so we decided to walk around the castle before the performance of my brother. It covers a huge area and the terrain is not the best. They should place 'at your own risk' signs all over the place.
We also carried a bucket of sand from the entrance to the top of the castle to help the builders. They came up with this initiative, so that visitors can help the construction in this way too. I didn't think that a bucket of sand could be this heavy!
Maxo was leading the way and we tried to keep up with him - easy for him with no sand to carry.
We also enjoyed some views...
I have no idea how some of those walls don't fall over...
They are also rebuilding some details such as arches.
There were large stones everywhere, and I was happy with the shoes that I put on. I saw some people struggle in flip flops.
Vaulted bastion is getting its original form from the 17th century. It got its name from the fact that the floor was vaulted. Each floor has a separate entrance, but we could only use the one on the ground floor. Inside it was empty except of two liquor bottles that somebody left there. People will never learn how to dispose of their trash properly.
Health and safety don't seem to be important here. There were many ladders, and various scaffoldings which we could easily enter. It took me some effort to convince my husband not to climb them all!
And we're coming back to the front part of the castle where the performance took place.
The visitors were sitting all over the place. I was hiding behind a wall as I didn't want to get sunburned. My husband is the one person in long pants and sleeves on the right. Well, he had no concerns about getting sunburned.
After my brother's performance we walked inside of the palace too. All people left, so we had the castle only for ourselves.
Those people working hard on this monument are doing a great job. From this side it doesn't even look like a ruin.
And the windows are well done too...
Let's walk around a bit more...
We will have to come back in a few years to see the progress as we really wonder how far they will take the reconstruction.
The way back down to the village seemed much easier for my mom and my aunt or maybe they just simply had enough and wanted to get back to the civilisation asap 😊
It was a great day, but next time we will choose a colder day.
See you next time!