Jelšavský hrad

Jelšava, Slovakia, Slovakia

---

Jelšavský hrad (Jelšava Castle) near Jelšava in Slovakia was first documented in 1243 by King Béla IV, who granted it along with surrounding mining lands to the Bebek brothers for their defense against the Mongol invasion, though it likely predated the 1241 attacks as a royal wooden-earth fort protecting iron ore operations. Abandoned by 1271 due to Muráň Castle's rise nearby, a stone replacement emerged 2 km west in the late 14th century under the Ratold family after they received the area in 1327, first noted in 1421 before destruction amid regional conflicts involving Jiskra's troops. Repaired by the Perényi or Bebek families into the 16th century until Turkish devastation in 1566, its ruins now blend Gothic origins with lost strategic mining importance.