Halič Castle

Halič, Slovakia, Slovakia

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Halič Castle in Halič, Slovakia, first appears in records from 1450 when it belonged to the Jiskra family, later passing to János Hunyadi and King Matthias Corvinus in 1462 before Istvan Losonczy owned it in the early 16th century. Losonczy rebuilt it without royal permission, suffering damage during a 1544 siege, after which his daughter Anna married Zsigmund Forgách, whose family—descended from Great Moravian nobility—held it until 1945. Zsigmond Forgách reconstructed it around 1598 on a naturally fortified site as an irregular hexagonal fortress with a storied building, six corner bastions, a ditch, mounds, and a courtyard featuring murals of Roman emperors and Hungarian kings. In 1762, the Forgáčs gave it a representative makeover under Austrian architect Andre Meyerhoffer, adding a columned entrance hall, double-wing staircase, chapel, and ceremonial hall with extensive frescoes, plus a French park including a rose garden from 1820, though it now stands abandoned awaiting restoration.