The ruins of Hričov Castle are situated in the cadastral area of the municipality of Hričovské Podhradie in the district of Žilina. The castle is approximately 1 km to the south of the centre of the village where the red marked tourist and educational trail begins. From a geomorphological point of view, the ruins of the castle are located in the Súľov Hills. The crag-like relief of the castle hill is made of an erosion resistant Súľov conglomerate. The strategic position of the castle on a Northern promontory of the Súľov Rocks, in a valley on the left bank of the Váh at 567 m above sea level, not only allowed its inhabitants to monitor the roads but also the waterways around the castle.
Hričov Castle, known in the past as “castrum Hrichou”, was constructed by Magister Toluš, a son of Farkas, in the 13th century, between 1254 and 1265, during the reign of King Bela IV of Hungary. At the end of the 13th century, the castle was owned by Matthew III Csák. A major reconstruction of the castle took place in the 15th century, when it was owned by Błażej Podmanitzky, who had acquired the castle as a gift from the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. In the 16th century János and Raffael Podmanitzky played a significant role in the history of the castle even though they were not immediate descendants of Błażej. At that time, the castle housed an illegal mint, where counterfeit coins were produced. In the second half of the 16th century, Ferenc Thurzó purchased the castle from Johanna Likerka. After her departure, the castle was not even used as a temporary residence by its owner. The 17th century saw the last owners of the castle, the Esterházy family. They neither used the castle nor maintained it. Its transformation into a ruin accelerated in the 18th century and it was abandoned and ignored until 2010. Hričov Castle can be divided into three sections: the castle core and the first and second outer baileys. The castle core includes four palaces: the upper, rear, central and front. The first bailey contains the remnants of the second gate and a defensive corner tower. The second bailey extended to the castle wall with gate, which no longer exists yet but inside the courtyard is still preserved a water tank.
On 7th July 2010 the Association of the Friends of Hričov Castle (AFHC) was established. It is a non-profit voluntary organisation that focuses on the conservation and restoration of the following monuments: Hričov Castle, a tollhouse in Dolný Hričov and Súľov Castle. The association is also the co-owner of a non-historical site, the old school building in Hričovské Podhradie. The long-term goal of the volunteers is comprehensive archaeological research into Hričov Castle followed by conservation that preserves its authenticity. The tollhouse in Dolný Hričov and the old school building in Hričovské Podhradie will be used in the future to display finds from the Castle and to present the results of the research.
Jozef Mihálik
