CERVENY KAMEN
The castle Cerveny Kamen (The Red Rock) was built roughly in the l3th century as a royal frontier
castle. Among the landmarks of the castle's history and appearance were its owners. The castle became
the property of the rich Fugger family whose wealth hinged on the extraction of ores containing
non-ferrous metals in central Slovakia, as well as on commerce and financial transactions. According
to the grand commercial plans the castle was rebuilt into an impressive Renaissance fortification in
which the estate administration was combined with commercial activity and erection of spatious
storages for reloading of goods. The reconstruction of the castle commenced in 1537 and continued
until the former half of the l6th century. The construction work followed the plans of Anton Fugger,
and the fortification work was clearly influenced by A. Durer. The more recent construction work
encouraged by the Palffy owners in the l6th century, but also in the l7th and l8th centuries changed
the castle into a comfortable residence. At the same time, however, it had preserved the fortification
elements of the Fugger building and the spatious cellars remained untouched. The interior was
provided with new plaster vaulting rich in painting decoration. In the l7th century
"Salla Terenna" was set up on the groundfloor, the ornaments of which were inspired by dripstone
caves. Construction work of the mid l8th century late Baroque concentrated not only on the interior
but also on the castle's surroundings and the area in front of the castle. This meant creation of
gardens and a lime alley bordering the access road. It was declared National cultural monument by the
Slovak Government.
..........Main portal
Ceiling with paintings
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Courtyard
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Salla terenna
