Kremnica castle comprises a compound of medieval buildings from the 14th through 15th centuries, protected with double fortifications to which town walls are connected. The town walls rank among the best-preserved town fortifications in Slovakia.
The Church of St. Catherine, the patron saint of the town, is the dominant sight of the castle area. The church, with the interior in the Neo-Gothic style, is well-known also because of the unique organ recitals. In the 15th century, the church tower was added, which acquired the present Renaissance appearance after a fire in 1560. For centuries, there used to be guards who would warn people of any danger. The guards` room is currently used for exhibition purposes and it also offers the most beautiful view of the town and its environs. In order to get to the exhibition, visitors have to climb 127 steps of the stone spiral stair-case.
The oldest architectural monument of the castle area and of the town in general is the ossuary from the early 14th century. The ossuary itself is accessible in the basement while the Chapel of St. Andrew with Gothic wall painting constitutes the upper part.
The museum offers to town-castle visitors also historical and art expositions in other museum premises: Baroque Plastic Art in the Town Hall, Archeological research of the Castle and Town`s Defence in the Northern Tower and Kremnica Bells and Bell Founders in the Little Clock Tower. The Miners` Bastion is part of the fortifications.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.