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by Wildcat Dianne
Milton, Florida
May 10, 2003
Smolenice is a small village located about 37 miles northeast of the capital at Bratislava and 16 miles northwest of the old city of Trnava in the foothills of the Maly Karpaty (Carpathian Mountain) range. People inhabited Smolenice since the Paleolithic Age and several archeological discoveries have been made from the Neolithic Age. The Celts had settled in the Smolenice area in the 6th Century BC, and another settlement from the Great Moravian Period was discovered recently.
The village really began to grow after 1256 and the original Smolenice Castle was built in the 14th Century on its current hilltop home as part of a chain of castles protecting the mountain passes throughout the Carpathian Mountain range through Slovakia and Hungary.
Smolenice Castle underwent several changes of ownership from the 14th Century onwards until the Palffy family took over the castle in 1777 and didn't let go until after World War II. The castle was in many stages of decay, and the Palffy family took great means to restore the castle to its former glory. Even after Smolenice and the castle were destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th Century, and the outer fortifications remained from the original castle construction, Hrad Smolenice survived the Industrial Revolution which brought a wood processing plant to the area and new wealth. The Palffy's reconstruction of Hrad Smolenice began in the early 20th Century making it one of the country's youngest castles.
The Palffy family didn't have long to enjoy the fruits of their labor at Hrad Smolenice for two World Wars and foreign occupation took over Slovakia. In 1939, the Germans with an invitation from the Slovakian Fascists under Monsignor Josef Tiso, took over Slovakia and caused much destruction in the area. In 1945, Smolenice and its castle fell into Russian hands and was under Russian occupation until 1948 when the Czechoslovakian Communists took over the country, and many royal familys including the Palffys fled Communist rule in Eastern Europe.
After the Communists took over Hrad Smolenice, they made the castle into the seat of the Slovakian Academy of Sciences (SAV) and hosts several scientific seminars and synopsiums every year.
Jaro and Maria took Ivan and I to Smolenice in May 2002, but when we tried to enter the castle courtyard, we were stopped by the guard on duty in a booth there. We were not allowed inside the castle for touring, but we could tour the courtyard for a short period of time since the place is an active place for the SAV. I was bummed we couldn't go inside the castle, but we enjoyed walking around the courtyard and outside the castle taking pictures. After touring the castle's exteriors, Ivan, Jaro, Maria, and I went to the little castle park nearby to enjoy the park and watch people feed the ducks in the park pond before heading back to Trnava.
Smolenice and its castle are a romantic slice of Slovakian history that is well-preserved that deserves a half-day trip if you ever visit this part of Western Slovakia.
From journal More of the Wildcat's Adventures in Slovakia: Smolenice and Pezinok