Strecno Castle in Slovakia

On the left bank of the Váh river, close to Žilina, you find the Strečno Castle on top of the limestone rock. In the past it was the safest fort in the Považie region.

photo by slovakia.travel

The castle was mentioned for the first time in 1384 in a phrase Comitatus castri Strechyn, i.e. estates of the Castle of Strečno. Based on indirect written reports it can be assumed that the Castle already existed in the first half of the 14^th century. It was to safeguard the toll collection at a ford through the Váh river.  
The oldest castle had the area of only 18x22 m. It comprised a rather small residential building, a water tank and a dominant watch tower with a defense function - the so-called bergfrit. In the course of the centuries, the Castle was extended and altered several times, whereas it had the largest area in the 17^th century when it reached the status of the castle with best fortifications in the region of Stredné Považie.
A story that is associated the most with the Castle of Strečno is the personal story of Žofia Bosniaková. Primarily, it is a story of her love for her husband, God and the poor. Intact remains of her body were found in the Castle crypt and transferred to the church in Teplička nad Váhom. In April 2009, they were subject to vandalism and destroyed. A replica of her mummy is located in the castle chapel.
The Castle of Strečno is an indispensable part of the landscape scenery of the Malá Fatra mountains and the castle rock and the path above the Castle provide a beautiful view of the Strečiansky priesmyk mountain pass, Domašínsky meander and a great part of the Žilinská kotlina basin.

Slovak Paradise National Park

Slovak Paradise National Park (Slovak: Národný park Slovenský raj) is one of the nine national parks in Slovakia, situated in East Slovakia. The National Park protects the area of the Slovak Paradise mountain range, which is located in the north of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains).

The National Park covers an area of 197.63 km² (76.3 mi²), and the buffer zone around the park covers an area of 130.11 km² (50.2 mi²); 327.74 km² together. Eleven national nature reserves and eight nature reserves are situated in the park^. The park offers about 300 km of hiking trails, often equipped with ladders, chains and bridges. The Slovak Paradise contains about 350 caves, but only the Dobšinská Ice Cave, which is since 2000 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is open to the public.

Bojnice - Slovakia

The Castle stands on a large travertine monticule on the site of medieval castle from the 11th century. In the past, the most famous Hungarian noble families owned it and the last of them was the family of Pálfi. Count Ján Pálfi had the structure reconstructed by the architect J. Hubert from Budapest at the end of the 19th century following the pattern of romantic castles of the Loire in central France. The typical silhouette of the romantic image of medieval castle is enhanced by steep roofs of the palace, chapel and towers.

Collections of artistic and historical museum are concentrated in the interior of the castle. Among them is the original furniture and the artistic collection of the Pálffys from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the most valuable item of national importance is the Late-Gothic altar of Bojnice made by Nardo di Cione Ortagna, artist from Florence in the mid-14th century. The visit to the castle includes that of dripstone cave under the Castle that communicates with the 26-m deep castle well.

International Festival of Ghosts and Spooks in held here regularly by the end of April and beginning of May. It is when the Bojnický zámok Castle becomes the meeting point of ghosts, spooks, witches, and vampires from all over the world.

An extensive park and landscape park are the inseparable parts of the castle area. The 600-year old lime tree of Bojnice of the King Matthias with 12.5-m trunk circumference stands in front the castle entrance.

Another attraction is the performance of the local group of historical fencing Bojník and that of Aquila, the association of falconers.

 

Bojnice castle

Brighton Pier in England

In its original form in 1823 Brighton's first pier was the Old Chain Pier which was primarily used as a landing stage for  passenger ships that sailed from Dieppe in France. Realising its commercial value the owners began charging an entry fee of 2d and introduced kiosks selling souvenirs and confectionary as well as entertainment stalls with fortune tellers and silhouettists. The Chain Pier was struck by many storms in a ten year period between 1824 and 1834 causing irreparable damage and eventually the pier was bought out in 1889 by the Marine Palace & Pier Company. In December that year the pier was destroyed in a mighty storm and so needed to be built again in its entirety.

Brighton Pier