In 2003 the town of Zvolen celebrated the 760th anniversary of its foundation.The first reliable document of the independent royal town of Zvolen is the royal charter of King Belo IV of December 28, 1243 reinstating the Zvolen's town privileges. Written documents on the existence of the town (settlement), however, date back also earlier than 1243. In 1222 it is written about Detrik - a head of the Zvolen County; at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries the chronicler Anonymus dates foundation of Zvolen Castle back to the 10th century. Zvolen has lived for years under the auspices of the Castle, today known as the Deserted Castle, which was the seat of the royal "komitat", that is a territory stretching in the area of the whole today's Central Slovakia. The importance of this vast castle (it was divided into the Upper and Lower Castle and its area was over 7 hectares!) faded away a little after building up the new castle right in the town. In the end, the Deserted Castle was burnt down by Ján Huňady's troops in 1452 (according to the latest research) and it remained in ruins. Hungarian King Louis the Great of Anjou had Zvolen Castle built in the second half of the 14th century. Since the time of its founding the Castle has often been rebuilt and had several owners. King Matthias Corvinus and his wife Beatrix would enjoy coming here; it was also a residence of Ján Jiskra of Brandýs, and the Ján Thurzo's possession. The cruelest period in the history of Zvolen was the 16th ...

• published: 20 Oct 2007
• views: 16893
• author: travelvideoone