Pajstún Castle Ruins, Borinka, Slovakia

Pajštún Castle was built in 13th century as part of a regional castle system aimed at defending the north-western border of the Kingdom of Hungary. One of the first known records mentioning the castle comes from 1314 in connection to its owner, Otto from Telesprun; many sources often, mistakenly, date the first mention of the castle to 1273. In 1390, Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary at the time, gifted the castle to the Grafs of the nearby Svätý Jur and Pezinok.

Since 1592, the castle belonged to the influential Pálffy family. However, its condition has been progressively worsening, and with the looming Turkish danger at the time, the castle has undergone major repairs around 1645, led by an Italian engineer Filiberto Luchese, which fundamentally transformed the original 13th century core of the castle. Nevertheless, the owners of the castle soon started preferring other locations of greater convenience, and Pajštún's significance - and condition - began to decline. This was aggravated by a large fire in the mid-18th century which destroyed a large part of the castle. With its importance diminished, the repairs were merely provisional. The final blow, however, came in 1810, when Napoleon's army destroyed the castle with an explosion. The destruction was deemed unnecessary, as the castle was already abandoned and posed no military threat. The last owner of the castle, Ľudovít Károlyi abandoned his properties in 1945, the ruins of the Pajštún Castle along with other nearby mansions and possessions among them.

References:

Wikipedia

Church of St Donatus

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.

Bright Tavengwa (9 months ago)
Wonderful experience, I enjoyed it ?

David (2 years ago)
A lovely castle access to which requires a short hike. Quite close to Bratislava. It’s a must for anyone living in the area

Filip Blaho (2 years ago)
Awesome castle ruin with some great views. Short hike to get there.

Poet Nitin Chopra (3 years ago)
Beautiful hills, huge castle ruins, nice hiking experience

Tomáš Pál (4 years ago)
Nice place,nice view

Pajstún Castle Ruins

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Church of St Donatus