Trencin: Castle Over the River Vah

Trenčín is one of the most beautiful and historically important cities in Slovakia. It is considered, along with Bratislava and Nitra, to be one of Slovakia’s three oldest cities. Archaeologists trace settlement as far back as the late Stone Age, but modern Trencín first appears to us under its Latin name Laugaricio, from the celebrated Rimsky Napis of 179AD, a rock carving commemorating the victory of Roman troops over the Germanic Quadi tribe.

A castle has overlooked the important Vah river ford for at least 1,000 years, but took its current form in later medieval times, when the area was under Hungarian rule. The majestic castle dominates the skyline of the town with an extensive system of fortifications and the lookout tower, the floor of which is 150m higher than the square.

The township of Trenčín, which originated as a market settlement beneath the castle, was granted city privileges in the late 14th century and elevated to the status of Free Royal City in 1412. The centre of town life was the market square, now known as Mierové námestie/Peace Square. The square is a long, irregular shape with a pleasant patch of lawn around the central baroque Column of the Holy Trinity from 1712. A row of healthy, young trees lines each long side of the square and provides pleasant shade for the many outdoor café and restaurant areas. The southwestern end of the square is shared by the twin golden towers of the former Jesuit, now Piarist, church and the single brilliant white tower of the last-remaining city gate.

Several further interesting buildings are close to the main square. The former synagogue is a national cultural monument. It was built between 1909 and 1912 from a design inspired by Byzantine and Oriental architecture featuring a central cupola. Unfortunately, it’s only open to groups (information on 032-6504317). The nearby Vodnik fountain on Štúrovo námestie is a favourite meeting place for Trenčíners and their kids.

Another national cultural monument is the covered staircase originating from 1568, originally built to give city defenders rapid access to the walls near the Parish Church of St. Mary’s birth. The church dates from 1324, but was damaged by fire and rebuilt in the renaissance style in 1528. The views from the church forecourt across the city and river valley are second only to those from the castle.

Quick Tips:

Tourist Information is located at Štúrovo námestie 10 and is helpful enough. They supply free maps and sell souvenirs and printed information booklets, but you might want to take what they tell you about accommodation with a grain of salt. The information booklet simply entitled Trenčín (the one with the photographic cover and the dark-blue lettering) is good value at 40Sk. There are sections dealing with the history of the castle and town, plenty of photographs, and a handy foldout map on a sturdy card inside the front cover.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you wish to walk to the centre of Trenčín from the train station, walk to the left (with your back to the station) through the park. Within 2 minutes you will see the foremost bastion of the castle fortifications, and within 10, you will be crossing the road directly beneath it into the northeastern end of the town square. Maps are for sale at newspaper stands, but if you’d prefer to get the free one from the tourist information office, proceed along the length of the square and through the city gate. Tourist information is less than 100m farther on your left.

If you are staying in the centre of Trenčín, you can walk everywhere of interest. If your luggage is especially unwieldy, you might choose to take a taxi back to the train station, but the walk is easy and partly through a flat, well-maintained park.

Trenčín is on the main train line between Bratislava and Žilina, and direct express trains make the trip at last a dozen times each day. To cross the border into Moravia, change trains at Puchov.

The Vodacký Klub/Canoe Club campground was the only place I could find with a vacancy when I arrived in Trenčín on a weekday in early July.

I’d hoped to stay at a cheap pension that I read about in a guidebook, but upon arrival, I found it not only to be completely booked for that night, but also for the following two weeks. The other pensions were all either full or well out of my price range. The one that the tourist information office helped me find was 1100Sk per night and right out in the suburbs on the other side of the train station. I had to ask specifically about the campground before tourist info would tell me about it, and even then, they tried to dissuade me from it by claiming that I would have to pay for the entire four-person cabin, or that maybe, if I was lucky, I would get away with only paying for three. I thought I’d give it a try, because the campground is in a good location, and even if I had to pay for the whole cabin, it would still be around half the price of the ‘cheapest’ pension out in the suburbs.

About fifteen minutes’ walk brought me to the office of the campground, where I had to wait just a moment while the manager answered questions about swimming in the river. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that I would only have to pay for the one bed that I intended to use. I even asked to be sure: "Don’t I have to pay for all beds in the cabin?" The manager’s "What? Are you crazy?" look confirmed it for me more succinctly than his "no". So take what you hear from tourist information regarding accommodation with a grain of salt. I shelled out my 170Sk/4 euros/5USD for each night and was given the key to cabin eleven and told that checkout time is strictly 10am.

The campground is situated on an island in the River Vah and has a beautiful view of Trenčín castle, if you can ignore the ultra-modern swimming stadium and football-ground light towers in the foreground. There’s a row of cabins around the perimeter of the ground and the area in the middle is used for camping, both in tents and in motorhomes. There’s also a kiosk selling the usual range of snacky things: chips, nuts, chocolate bars, and overpriced half-melted ice creams.

Cabin Eleven was a simple wooden construction containing two pairs of bunk-beds, a table, and a couple of chairs. There’s also a bench outside under a small verandah. The toilets and showers were in separate buildings close to the entrance and office and were quite clean. I’m not sure what time is the best to catch the hot water for your showers, because I never managed to do so.

Highly recommended for whomever "best value for money" is more important than out-and-out "best".

Aramis restaurant can be a little hard to find, but it’s worth the effort. I wouldn’t have found it if it weren’t for the sign offering a special lunch deal (until 2pm).

It’s housed in the courtyard of a building on Farská Ulica/street, behind shops about halfway between the main square and the covered staircase up to the castle. The cool, vine-covered courtyard holds four wooden tables, which is enough space for about twenty people. The hubbub of the city feels far away and it’s a very pleasant place to enjoy a meal and relax for a while. The main interior part of the restaurant had another six or seven wooden tables, which could seat around thirty diners.

From the special lunch menu, I chose the fried cheese, with boiled potatoes and a starter of garlic soup. All that cost 80Sk, and while not a huge meal, was still excellent value for money. There were other typical staple dishes of the region available; chicken schnitzel pork cutlet and so on all for around the same price. Whether it was the pleasant surroundings or just my sweet tooth we’ll never know, but I decided also to have coffee and cake, which brought the total bill with a small tip up to 125Sk. The waitress was very young, but quite personable. I gave her 525Sk but she made a mistake and didn’t give me enough change. By the time I’d worked it out and double-checked, she had the correct amount in her hand and was on her way back to my table to apologise.

Even though it was closed at the time, I snuck a peek into the separate bar area, which apparently opens later in the day. The main part of the restaurant is the courtyard and the building behind it in the yard, but underneath the shops with the street frontage, there is a stone cellar with an arched roof. Assorted beer and wine paraphernalia decorated the space, and a row of lights hung along each side wall above the wooden tables and benches. The small stage at one end would seem to indicate that live bands perform there sometimes.

Aramis is open Monday through Thursday from 10am until 9pm, on Friday from 10am until 2am, Saturday from 2pm until 2am and on Sunday only from 2pm to 9pm. I’ll definitely return if I’m ever again in Trenčín. I wish I’d found it sooner in my first visit.

The Trenčín castle has watched over the Vah River from its elevated rocky outcrop since the time of the Great Moravian Empire (830-907). After years of battles, the Moravians were finally defeated by Hungarian invaders in 907, and by the 11th century Trencin castle was the seat of the Hungarian regional Royal authorities. In the 13th century more buildings were added to the original watchtower, and the fortifications were continually extended to become the monumental system visible today.

The original gate tower now serves as the ticket office, where you should buy your entry ticket (85Sk) and then hand it to the man seated three metres to the left of the ticket office to be validated. The courtyard and buildings of the lower castle can be explored at your leisure but the upper castle is accessible only on a guided tour, the times for which are posted at the entrance.

A well of almost 80 metres’ depth is located in the lower courtyard and has become known as the "Well of Love". The legend is that Stefan Zápolský, Lord of Trenčín castle from 1493, captured a Turkish hostage named Fatima as a gift for his wife. When Fatima’s fiancé Omar came to buy her freedom Zápolský told him "I do not take back gifts and riches have I plenty". Omar asked "What is it that you have not?", and was told "Water". Upon gaining the lord’s promise that Fatima would be released if he could make the rock give out water, he began work on the well. After three years he finally came to water and is reputed to have told Zápolský, "Here is the water, but harder than that rock was your heart."

After a short wait at the bridge over the moat around the upper castle the guide arrived to begin the tour. I was a little curious about the professionalism of the tour when I saw that the young guide was dressed in hot-pink trousers, an art mullet, and a T-shirt with the inscription, "Pixy’s being happy, have a nice night!" My fears were unfounded, though, as the tour was thorough and informative. We were led to the lower part of the original watchtower and the portrait-room of the Ilešházi family, lords of the castle from 1600 until 1835. The centrepiece of the main portrait room was a depiction of Josef Ilešházi, which is said to have eyes that follow you around the room. Whether it was the power of suggestion or a clever optical illusion employed by the painter, I don’t know, but the oohs and ahhs of the rest of the visitors convinced me that they were as impressed as I was that Josef could still move his eyes 240 years after his death.

The remaining palaces of the upper castle are included in the tour but the highlight is the viewing tower with extensive views over the castle grounds and fortifications, to the city, and the mighty Vah River.

The Katov Dum in Trenčín houses a small museum with several interesting exhibits mainly revolving around law and order in centuries past. A Kat was a hangman or executioner, and Dum just means house, but the name of the museum sounds eerily like the English words "Cut of Doom".

The entrance is up the staircase to the left of the building. After buying your 30Sk ticket, (15Sk for students)you’ll be shown into a room that houses two large models of Trenčín castle at different times in its history, as well as numerous framed paintings and sketches of the town. You’re left to peruse the exhibits at your leisure until the guide decides it's time for you to see the second room.

The upper floor was formerly the executioner’s residence and the guide gives a short talk on the subject while also directing your attention to such things as 400-year old clocks, coats of arms, coins and ceremonial battleaxes belonging to the Strazníci, who were the police and guardians of the town. The two rooms are reasonably small and seeing everything thoroughly takes only ten minutes or so. The guide is always with you to explain and answer questions, and you’ll be quite aware when she feels she’s spent enough time with you.

When you’re ushered to the downstairs room, which was formerly the prison, you’ll find another guide who will show you implements of torture including racks, stocks, leather whips and various hard pointy objects, the gruesome details of which my memory seems to have blocked out. The one that vividly springs to mind is a wooden ball covered in metal studs, attached to a handle by a short length of chain. This was used to help people remember what it is that they should be confessing to while strapped around the chest, neck, elbows and ankles to a low bench mounted on wheels. There are also police uniforms of different eras, swords and more battleaxes. Another ten minutes or so, and you’re done.

There’s a nice wooden balcony around three sides of the top floor, which must have provided superb views for the ticket lady during the cigarette break that I apparently interrupted when I wanted to buy a ticket. Unfortunately the 30Sk ticket price doesn’t seem to be enough of a reason for her to share it with visitors to the city.

Photography is prohibited within the entire museum, and twenty minutes is enough time to allow for a visit. The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays and open from 9am to 12 noon and from 12:30 until 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Krankenhaus is a colourful bar two streets from Trencin’s main square in the direction of the railway station.

If you manage to cross the wide, busy road safely, you’ll enter through a door from one side of the building. The first things you will see are the computers just inside the door, set up to offer Internet access. Beside them are a couple of flashing-light gaming machines, and after that is the bar holding up the elbows of a bored barmaid. Along the front of the bar is a row of tall stools made from ultra-modern plastic in bright colours.

Along the entire length of the wall opposite the bar is a row of benches and kidney-shaped tables, with chairs of the same brightly-coloured plastic. At the end of the bar opposite the door is a low stage with a lighting rig suspended above it. There’s also a movie screen upon which was playing MTV during both of my visits. It’s a pity that the music doesn’t match the screen. Most of the time it is local radio, which is ordinary at best. ‘Girls on Film’ by Duran Duran was the highlight of a tedious playlist until a couple of young guys with tousled hair and long shorts entered the bar. They ordered drinks on their way past the bar and went to put coins in what I thought was a cigarette machine mounted on the wall near the entrance to the toilets. Seconds later, the cigarette machine became a jukebox, and Krankenhaus was transformed into "Shady’s world".

I had my usual Kofola, which is like a cross between Cola and Sarsparilla, in a half-litre glass for 21Sk. I also noticed that espresso with milk was 23Sk, without milk 17Sk, cappuccino was 25Sk, and half-litres of beer were 19.80Sk for Czech Budvar and 18.80Sk for the local Topvar.

I was there early in the evening, but the longer I stayed, the more lively the bar became. The young guys in long shorts were soon joined by more young guys who played table football for a while but, unfortunately, let the music return to the crappy local radio station. More people arrived to use the Internet, order energy drinks, and glide around on rollerblades. There was also a small outdoor seating area that would have been good, had the weather been better.

The bright colours and modern furniture seemed a bit out of place at first, but after a while, it grew on me, and I found myself back again on the second night of my stay. Most things were the same, except that the young guys wearing Beatles haircuts like helmets had been replaced by older guys playing cards for money and smoking like steam trains. I ordered the same drink, and the barmaid looked just as bored.

Krankenhaus is open from 11am-2am on weekdays, except Friday, when it stays open until 6am. On Saturday, it opens from 3pm-3am, and Sunday from 3pm-2am.

Steps Pub is an Irish pub just a few paces from the main square through the town’s gate tower. I found it because I’d been up near the entrance to the castle taking photographs over the city at night, and I heard something that sounded like a great crowd of people really enjoying themselves and decided to find out where it was coming from.

The pub has a large, umbrella-covered outdoor area with enough plastic chairs and tables for about 100 people. There’s no need to go up to the small outside bar to order. The table service is not the speediest, even by regional standards, but they’ll get to you eventually. The outdoor bar seems to be just for the preparation of more complex drinks and to function as a stage for Trencin’s answer to Tom Cruise to display his skills with expensive liquids in fragile containers.

Inside, it’s all bare timber, bar stools, and tables made from wine barrels. There’s probably enough space for about another 80 to 100 people to sit and another 50 or so for nights when it’s busy enough to stand up. They have Guinness on tap for 69Sk (0.5 litre) and Kilkenny for the same price, but in a slightly smaller glass (0.4 litre).There were also seven varieties of scotch whiskey, three from Ireland and four from America. I chose a large glass of mineral water for 30Sk and came back the next morning for a large coffee with milk for 22Sk, which I thought was an excellent value for the money.

The wait staff was quite pleasant and effortlessly switched to English as soon as they heard me mangle a drink order in the local language. Again, you don’t need to go up to the bar to order; they’ll come around to your table. Payment is also taken care of at the table: they’ll disappear for a few seconds and be back with a docket detailing your purchases. Tipping consists of adding 5% to 10% to the bill to take it up to the nearest round number.

Steps Pub is open weekdays from 10am to 1am, except on Friday, when it stays open until 4am. On weekends, it opens at 4pm and closes at 4am on Saturday and at 1am on Sunday.

The Cinema Movies Club seems to be the biggest, brightest, and busiest of Trenčín’s nightspots.

The entrance is from Palackeho street and the club extends right through the block to another entrance onto the main road (Hasičská) that runs along the river. The front bar that you enter from Palackeho street is the first of several distinct sections of the cinema movies club. It’s done out in pale green leather and dark wood and is decorated with framed prints of famous actors. There are tables and chairs as well as ledges designed for people who prefer to stand with their drinks. Past the bar is a larger space filled with tables and wicker chairs and sofas, as well as a decent-sized movie screen. This section seems to be the main dining area. Above this main room, there’s a mezzanine floor with more tables and chairs but no view of the movie screen. Further to the rear, there’s a small glass-enclosed garden room, and then an outdoor dining area beside the busy road. There must be space for at least 300 people, and maybe as many as 450, if you count standing space.

The rear rooms are more inviting than the one at the front. Any seats that are not upholstered are provided with colourful cushions and the wood is a lighter, more natural and welcoming colour than the almost black furniture of the bar. Warm orange and blue hues replace the insipid pale green and the skylights provide natural light until well past 9pm in mid summer. Stills from well-known films including Finding Nemo and The Matrix decorate the walls and the highlight of the interior decoration is an old reel-to-reel film projector peering out from an alcove along one side wall. The bathrooms are a model of electronic, ceramic, and stainless steel EU-compliance.

Meals are served until 10pm. I had a dish of sautéed chicken with broccoli and bamboo shoots for 130Sk, with a side order of chips (French fries) for 29Sk. Delicious! The portion was generous and the service prompt. If the three women at the next table hadn’t been laughing hysterically and smoking like chimneys, it would have been an entirely pleasant experience.

If I were to return to Trenčín, I’d skip the bar in favour of Krankenhaus, Steps pub or somewhere new and would probably only eat there again if Restaurant Aramis were closed at the time. That said, though, the staff seem accustomed to dealing with foreigners, and it’s probably a good option for a lot of people, especially anyone who finds a little slickness reassuring.

The grand Trenčín museum building was built on the main square in the seventeenth century as the town residence of the powerful land-owning Ilešházi family and in the mid-eighteenth century became the county hall. The museum is housed in the four grand ceremonial rooms on the first floor. Various city offices also share the building and to gain entrance to the museum you will need to enquire at the Vratnica/Porter’s office on the ground floor. He’ll sell you a ticket and walk you upstairs to unlock the doors.

The museum has all the humdrum standard museum exhibits. Stuffed animals and mounted insects from the region as well as various rocks and displays on the geological formation of the landscape. The celebrated Rímsky Napís/Roman Inscription is treated to a display of its own. The roman inscription is a carving in one of the rock faces below the Trenčín castle in which the leader of 800 Roman soldiers expresses thanks for their military victories over the local Quadi tribes during the Markoman wars, and survival through the winter in the settlement then named Laugaricio. The inscription dates from the year 179 and much is made of it in every leaflet of brochure even remotely related to the history of the city. It is apparently only visible to the naked eye from the upper floors of the nearby Hotel Tatra. There are also quite a few grand portraits of important-looking men who were undoubtedly connected with the government of the county and its property.

The exhibits that I found more interesting predominantly related to the everyday life of ordinary people in centuries past. The highlights were undoubtedly the whimsical carved wooden beehives in the form of people, clad in the folk dress of the day. There were also several actual examples of the colourful embroidered costumes safely displayed behind glass. In a further glass cabinet was a hand-illuminated Bible almost as thick as it was either wide or tall and some interesting metal stamps for ink and for wax seals.

The museum is apparently not terribly popular with foreign visitors, as the extensive explanations have not been translated from Slovak at all. On a weekday afternoon in July, I was the only visitor for the whole hour or so that I was there.

Entrance is 20Sk for adults and 10Sk for students, and the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 11am and 11:30 am to 4pm.