Tematin Castle

Lúka, Slovakia, Slovakia

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Tematin Castle near Lúka in western Slovakia was built in the 1240s shortly after the Mongol invasion, using oak trees felled between 1241-1243, as part of Hungary's border defense system with visual signaling contact to Trenčín Castle while guarding a Váh River ford. First mentioned around 1270 in the possession of the Rožn family—rewarded to Michal for loyalty amid civil war between Béla IV and Stephen V—it passed through powerful clans like Hunt-Poznan, Matthew Csák (who rebuilt it early 14th century), the Uljaki family from 1348, Thurzós from 1524 who expanded it significantly, and finally the Bercsényis in the late 17th century. Besieged and heavily damaged by imperial forces in 1710 during the Rákóczi uprising's suppression, it fell into ruin by the early 19th century, leaving Gothic-Renaissance remnants like a 13th-century gatehouse, corner tower, main tower walls, and a massive southern bastion as a hiking destination today.