Čierny hrad

Velčice, Slovakia, Slovakia

---

Čierny hrad is the ruin of a short-lived medieval stone castle atop a forested conical hill in the Tribeč Mountains above the village of Zlatno near Velčice in western Slovakia, likely built at the turn of the 13th to 14th century on a prehistoric Bronze Age hillfort site previously fortified by Slavs in the 9th-10th centuries against Magyar raids. Associated with the Bašo and Forgáč noble families—with a sole 1516 record granting gold mining rights nearby—it saw possibly temporary use by Hussite "bratríci" mid-15th century before abandonment by the late 14th or early 15th century, leaving scant wall remnants, an ohnisko with seating, and an easy hike for visitors today.