The Ľubovňa Castle

Stará Ľubovňa, Slovakia, Slovakia

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Ľubovňa Castle is a well-preserved medieval fortress overlooking the town of Stará Ľubovňa in northeastern Slovakia, first mentioned in historical records around 1311 and built in the late 13th century to guard trade routes along the Poprad River valley near the Polish border. Evolving from a simple Gothic stronghold with a residential palace and cylindrical tower into a grand Renaissance fortress after a 1553 fire—thanks to Polish King Sigismund II Augustus—it gained bastions, a second palace, and Italian architectural influences during 16th- and 17th-century reconstructions. Once a depository for Polish crown jewels and prison for adventurer Móric Beňovský, it now houses a museum showcasing arms, furniture, carriages, and regional history amid its multi-courtyard layout blending Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles.