Čachtice Castle — Attraction in Čachtice

Ruins of the “mysterious castle in the Karpaty mountains” tower above the village Čachtice in western Slovakia (about 35 km from Trenčín). It is the Castle of Čachtice, once residence of the “bloody countess Elizabeth Bátory”.

The castle was one of the boundary royal castles defending the western border of the Kingdom of Hungary. It was built in the first half of the 13th century and widened in the 15th century. Ill-famed Elizabeth Báthory lived here at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. For her sadist habits she was called ”the bloody countess”. She allegedly killed 600 young girls bathed in their blood in order to stay forever young and beautiful. The gadget used by the countess to obtain blood was a kind of iron maiden with knives incorporated in its lid. Once the unfortunate victim was laid in and the lid closed, the knives pierced her chest and the blood was collected in the prepared tub.

The countess was condemned to a lifelong prison in 1611 by the Paladin Thurzo in Bytča and died in 1614. The story of the bloody countess became subject of numerous literary or theatre works.

The castle was burnt during the Rebellion of Estates by the soldiers of Francis II Rákoczi and fell in decay. Today its picturesque ruins offer a nice panoramic view.

The Renaissance manor house of Čachtice from the end of the 17th century is the seat of exhibition of the Museum of Trenčín oriented to history and ethnography of the area.

Access: By car from Trenčín, direction Nové Mesto nad Váhom. Enter village Čachtice and park at a designated parking below the castle. From there, walk for 15 minutes toward the castle. By bus or train to Nové Mesto nad Váhom, then by bus to Čachtice. From the bus stop walk for 45 minutes to the castle.

Entrance fees castle: Adults €3; Pensioners, handicapped persons and students €2; Children 0-6 years €1,5; Children 0-6 years free.

Parking fees: Personal car and Bus €3; Motorbike €1

Some photos courtesy of...

Trip from Slovakia to Czech Republic with MYTRIPLINE.

Čachtice Castle is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason. The castle was a residence and later the prison of the Countess and alleged serial killer Elizabeth Báthory.

Čachtice was built in the mid-13th century by Kazimir from the Hont-Pázmány gens as a sentry on the road to Moravia. Later, it belonged to Matthew Csák, the Stibor family, and then to Elizabeth Báthory. Čachtice, its surrounding lands and villages, was a wedding gift from the Nádasdy family upon Elizabeth's marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy in 1575.

Originally, Čachtice was a Romanesque castle with an interesting horseshoe-shaped residence tower. It was turned into a Gothic castle later and its size was increased in the 15th and 16th centuries. A Renaissance renovation followed in the 17th century. In 1708 the castle was captured by the rebels of Francis II Rákóczi. It was neglected and burned down in 1799. It was left to decay until it was turned into a tourist attraction in...

I have returned to this castle after 10 years and was quite disappointed how commercial this place has become. You pay 4eur as entrance fee and if you are lazy and want to park closer (wasn't our case) you pay for the park tickets as well. The toilets have no running water no toilet paper and it stinks so avoid them. There are other and nicer ruins in svk where you don't pay anything. You have also more possibilities how to get up here, we took the green path from cachtice and that is the worst option as it's asphalt road and there are cars passing you constantly so having a child you always need to pay attention. I highly recommend to use the náučný chodník from cachtice 48.7179922N, 17.7820961E starting point. It's a bit longer but more peaceful and no cars. It was opened in 2022 so you don't find much...