Ostrý Kameň Ruins near Buková

In the middle of the Little Carpathians, north from Smolenice, near Buková trough, there lies Buková village. From there, in the south west direction one can walk to the Buková dam or directly to the crossroads of the hiking trials called Breziny. A red hiking trail of the Štefánikova magistrála leads from there towards the ruins of Ostrý Kameň Castle. The castle was built in the 13th century and in the past served as a royal border fortress protecting the Czech route. This trade route led through the Buková trough mountain pass of the Little Carpathians directly under the castle. Since 1394 the castle was a property of the Stibor family, after their family fine died out, it was owned by the Czobor brothers. At that time it was functioning as a large economic and protective centre of Ostrý Kameň County. After Gašpar Czobor’s death in 1539, the estate of the Czobor family became subject to years long conflict which resulted in the castle ownership division. At the beginning of the 18th century the castle was damged by the Rákóczi troops and since then it was falling apart. In the 18th century also the Ostrý Kameň County fell apart and nobody had interest in castle repair. The originally gothic so called upper castle was formed by a tower, palace, chapel and a fortification. The small fortress in the northern part of the castle premises was located on the highest point of the rocky ridge and it was protected by the steep and edgy precipices after which it was named. Only some stone walls of the rectangular building, remains of the three bastions, outhouses and Renaissance double cornice have been preserved until today. The surrounding of the castle is a significant area of a relict flora protected within Záruby national nature reserve. The highest peak of the Little Carpathians - Záruby (768 m) is not far from the castle ruins. Hiking tourists may prefer beautiful, however also longer and more demanding walk to the castle ruins from Smolenice village through the Záruby ridge. The castle hill will reward them with an amazing view of the Little Carpathians and Záhorská Lowland.