Castle Muran

Muráň, Slovakia, Slovakia

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Castle Muráň in Muráň, Slovakia, is one of the country's highest castles, built shortly after the 1241 Mongol invasion on a 935-meter rocky promontory above the Muráň River valley by King Béla IV to guard trade routes through the Ore Mountains and protect local iron mines. First documented in 1271 as "castrum Movran," it expanded in the 14th century under the Ratold family with Gothic residential towers, cisterns, and rock-cut ditches, later growing to 2.5 hectares by the 15th-16th centuries featuring semicircular bastions, a four-sided gatehouse, palace, chapel, cannon foundry, and extensive garrison quarters amid repeated sieges. Held by robber knight Matthias Baša until 1549 and key commanders like Nicholas Bercsényi until 1709, it burned in 1702 and fell into ruin after 1776 when the imperial garrison departed, preserving today as dramatic ruins with panoramic views.