New Year's Eve at the castle

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New Year's Eve at the castle


How and where do you spend New Year's Eve? Lovers of history and fresh air under Hanigov Castle spend it in an unconventional way. They exchanged the "slipper" New Year's Eve for the magical atmosphere of a medieval castle. Today is the third year of the New Year's Eve climb to Hanigov Castle, organized by the municipality of Hanigovce with the support of municipalities cooperating in the Dolina Čergova region association.

The castle is located above the municipality of Hanigovce near Sabinov, hidden among the hills of the Čergov mountain range. Its origin probably dates back to the 13th century and was originally built of wood. In the 14th century, during the reign of King Louis I of Hungary, it was rebuilt into a stone one, in order to strengthen the border zone of the kingdom. In 1411, the name of the castle was given as castrum Wywar, i.e. New Castle. It burned down in 1557 and its owners at the time, the Transylvanian nobles Martin and Gašpar Pečovský, did not restore it.

The Novum castrum civic association has been taking care of the ruin since 2010. The civic association has done a lot of work here so far in cooperation with other organizations and volunteers. The restoration of the castle has been carried out by the municipality of Hanigovce since 2022. The coordinator of the works, Martin Sárossy, talked about the New Year's Eve climb:

"At the end of the year, the tradition of the New Year's Eve climb to Hanigov Castle took hold. Hanigov Castle has the advantage that it is accessible from four municipalities: Hanigovce, Ľutina, Milpoš and Olejníkov. It is a place where we can meet on New Year's Eve and it also helps us create partnerships with individual municipalities, hunting associations and the local community that lives and works here. At this meeting, we will also inform you about the restoration of the castle over the past year and the restoration plans for the coming year. There will also be refreshments by the campfire: cabbage soup, sausage and hot tea.”

As part of the rescue of the castle, all serious structural defects have been stabilized so far, part of the castle masonry has been restored, the original Gothic portal has been excavated, the arch of the gate with a passage has been restored and the original Gothic portal has been installed. The rescue of the palace window vault has also been completed.

Hanigovský Castle is worth visiting at any time of year. All year round, you can find ponies and a herd of goats here, which keep the castle cliff and the meadow below the castle clear of bushes. Thanks to the Let's Revive the Castle Spring project, which we supported with a grant from our Together for the Region 2024 program, we managed to restore the watering place for these animals, which had been washed away by the ravages of time.

You can reach the castle ruins along the green tourist trail from Hanigovec (approx. 4 km), or along the more demanding, yellow trail from the village of Ľutina (approx. 3 km). The ascent from both sides takes about an hour. The trail in Hanigovec starts a few meters below the bus stop, climbs between houses, turns right and continues with a gentle climb through meadows to the forest. From the meadows, you can see views of Šariš Castle. Definitely don't miss it when wandering around eastern Slovakia.

Cover photo: facebook Hanigovec Castle - o.z. Novum Castr

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