I’m a big fan of fairytale castles and if I have the chance to visit one, I’ll usually take it. As I researched Slovakia there was an overwhelming choice of castles. All kinds of castles; medieval, fortresses, fairytale, mansions… you name it. Luckily my friend send me a list of recommendations in her home country. Bojnice Castle was one of them.
I made a rough trip itinerary and refined it once I was in the country. This gave me the freedom to stay longer in the High Tatras, a place I totally fell in love with. I figured I could just about squeeze in my other top spots and scheduled Bojnice Castle on my way from the Slovak Paradise to Bratislava. I would stay for one night, take a train to Bratislava in the morning and still have some time in the capital. Well… that turned out to be too ambitious a plan. Even if I took the first bus out of Hrabušice, I wouldn’t arrive in Bojnice in time to visit the castle, since it closes at 3pm in the off season. No point getting up at 7am then!
I took the bus around 10 instead, got on the train at Spišská Nová Ves, transferred at Vrútky to Prievidza and finally took a bus for a short ride to Bojnice. It was a looooong journey. So was it worth it?
Well, when I see a picture like this, I’ve got to say it’s worth it. Bojnice is a super small town and I found a place to stay in a brand new apartment: Ubytovanie Marinel. It was a stone’s throw away from the bus stop and when I arrived the family who owned it was working in the garden. I was amazed at the spacious apartment I was shown. But there was no time to enjoy an apartment. I wanted to make good use of my time to have a look around Bojnice and get my first glimpse of the castle. My first glimpse was only about 500 meters away.
Around the corner from my apartment was a lovely little garden with the castle taking a prime spot. It was a bit gloomy, true autumn weather, so it didn’t look as glamorous as in the many photos I’d seen, but it did impress. I walked past the entrance and along the backside, where I found many souvenir stalls and some food. Most of them were packing up. Behind the castle was a pool and a zoo and I decided to walk alongside it up the forested hill stretching out right behind it. I made my way up via random paths that seemed to still be under development. My goal was a nice little viewpoint. There are two viewpoints. One is a massive structure a bit further away that looks modern and must offer incredible views. My viewpoint was closer to the town, on this hillside, and already brought me to a nice view over the surroundings.
Only on my way back I discovered there was a trail, with lots of steps, leading from the town to the viewpoint. Along the way, not far from the viewpoint, you pass a little church with three crosses in front of it: Kalvária Bojnice. A girl was running up as I made my way down. I ended up on the main road and went through the castle park one more time.
Before 
After
The next day I couldn’t believe my luck. I had a tights schedule. The castle opened at 10.00 and at 11.28 I had to be on a bus to the train station. My hosts were kind enough to let me leave my luggage in the apartment and so I could enjoy a beautiful sunny day without a hassle. What a difference a day can make! Today the colors seemed more vibrant, the sky was mostly blue, the castle seemed to shine. I strolled around it once more because I was early. When I got around to the entrance, a small cue was forming, waiting for the gates to open.
Because of COVID the tour through the castle was self-guided. I had no clue how long it would take, so I tried not to linger in all the rooms for too long. I was surprised. The tour was quite extensive and many of the rooms were gorgeously decorated with beautiful patterns on the wall, intricate woodwork, painted ceilings and marble on the floors. The furniture wasn’t all original, but they’d made it look like how it could have been, including some random mannequins that, even though dressed in style, looked somewhat out of place.
The tour zigzagged through the castle, up a staircase, to towers and through rooms, eventually ending up in a small manicured garden. The exit went through the basement and it wasn’t just any basement! It was slightly creepy to descent into the belly of the castle as it became more and more cavelike. I was walking straight to the source of the well. It was so cool! Right underneath this massive structure was a water source in a cave, with stalagmites and stalactites and water dripping from the ceiling.
My visit in Bojnice was extremely short, but worth the journey. If you have more time, especially in summer, I think the surroundings would be great to explore. However, my time was running out and I had to get on the bus, back to the train station and to Bratislava to finish an amazing trip through Slovakia!
