Castle Story

Five centuries of history, 19 years of restoration

Historic treasures

Rare photographic documents from the castle archive capturing its past

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Nagy-Bossany postcard

A rare postcard showing an overall view of the castle in winter

c. 1905

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Aerial view

An elevated view of the castle from the rear with its characteristic battlements

c. 1930

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Panorama with the village

The castle with surrounding farm buildings and the village in the background

c. 1925

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Side façade

A view of the attic walls with decorative battlements and a fence in the foreground

c. 1955

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Park entrance

The original entrance gate to the castle park with stone pillars

c. 1910

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Pentagonal bastion

The Renaissance bastion with visible cracks before reconstruction

c. 1965

Construction development

A timeline of the castle's history

12 construction phases from Gothic foundations to the modern era

15th cent.

Gothic I

First phase

The original building took the form of a three-storey block structure. The corner ashlar work and a fragment of a circular rosette date from this period.

late 15th cent.

Gothic II

Second phase

A considerable increase in building mass in height. A painting depicting Samson carrying the gate of Gaza has been preserved.

early 16th cent.

Renaissance I

Third phase

The building volume was expanded by adding new wings and floors. Fragments of plaster with a painted frieze have been preserved.

c. 1550

Renaissance II

Fourth phase

Extension of the western part of the south-east wing. A rebuilt structure with a fortification character is assumed.

c. 1580

Renaissance III

Fifth phase

The castle acquired its fundamental spatial and bastion form. Pentagonal corner bastions were built.

c. 1650

Baroque I

Sixth phase

A hexagonal bastion was built on the south-west corner, possibly replacing an older bastion.

17th cent.

Baroque II

Seventh phase

Attic walls were added around the entire perimeter — the castle acquired a 'fortress' appearance. Rich stucco decoration imitating Botticelli.

c. 1730

Baroque III

Eighth phase

A staircase tract was built in the central wing. Stucco decoration and stone floors in the interior.

1794

Louis XVI style

Ninth phase

Documented by the discovery of a niche for a tiled stove and a stucco cartouche with the inscription 'AD RENOVAT 1794'.

19th cent.

Historicism

Tenth phase

The castle acquired a romanticised appearance through modifications to the attic walls and a new wooden roof structure.

1903

Agricultural

Eleventh phase

The building was adapted for agricultural use — the entire north-west wing was rebuilt into a granary.

1970s–80s

Conservation

Twelfth phase

Conservation and incomplete reconstruction works. The works were halted after 1989.

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Discoveries

Highlights from history

Gothic painting of Samson

A fragment of a wall painting with the biblical motif of Samson carrying the gate of Gaza, from the late 15th century, has been preserved in the interior.

Botticelli inspiration

The hexagonal bastion contains a vault with stucco decoration whose centre originally bore a painted composition imitating the Birth of Venus.

Fortress appearance

In the 17th century, attic walls were added around the entire perimeter, giving the castle its characteristic 'fortress' look.

Fortification character

The perimeter walls had a defensive character and served to protect the courtyard. The pentagonal bastions provided a strategic advantage.

Heritage

Owners of the castle

From medieval nobility to modern industrialists

12th cent.

Nitra Chapter

Original owner of the village of Bošany

13th–18th cent.

The main line of the castle's owners

from 1710

The Ruttkay family

After the sale by the widow Anna Esterházy

1864

Industrialist who bought the castle

1865

Július Bischofshausen

Baron who bought part of the estate

1906–1944

Ladislav Salzberger

The last significant owner of the manor estate

Before the restoration

From ruins back to life

Photo documentation of the castle's condition before the restoration began — a testimony to years of decay and, at the same time, proof of the determination to restore its former glory