Brezovicka, Slovakia

Brezovička Castle - extinct

The Brezovička - Hamborek Castle is located on the eastern edge of the Levoča Hills, on the top of the Zámčisko - Várhegy ridge (dimension 806) running north from the long ridge, about 2 km to the southwest from the village of Brezovička.

The village of Brezovička was founded on a purchase right in the middle of the 13th century. In 1307, the Berzeviczy family built a monastery-castle above the road connecting Spiš and Šariš. The village belonged to the Torysa manor and in 1316, when the Tory manor was divided, it belonged to Kokoš (together with Ján, they were the sons of Count Rikolf, descended from the Berzeviczy family). . Kokoš killed the nobleman Teodor , son of Count Arnold of Spiš. For the murder he is sentenced in 1307 to pay a fine of 200 marks (about 38 kg of silver), to found 6 monasteries and 4,000 mass bases for the "soul-saving" of the murdered Frederik. One of the monasteries was the Carthusian monastery in the then Haynburg (in the locality of Koscilek) .

The first written mention of the village dates back to 1320.

But the castle is mentioned much earlier. Hamborek was the original name of the village until 1948 and was derived from the German "ham" - outcrop and "burg" - castle, thus translated as "Castle on the outcrop". Brezovička Castle is mentioned only twice in historical sources, in 1316 and 1329. Its foundation can be dated around 1300 and its demise around the beginning of the second half of the 15th century.

The ruins of the medieval castle from the 13th-14th century are located at an altitude of 775m. In the 15th century the castle was in the hands of the Brahmins and in 1458 it was taken over by Šebastian of Rozhanovce. The castle probably disappeared in the 2nd half of the 15th century.

The castle had an oval-elliptical plan. In the southern part stood a tower, after which a crater with a diameter of 5.4m is visible today. The round brick defensive tower, about 5-6m in diameter, was protected on the south side by a rampart with two ditches 14-18m wide and 2.2-3.5m deep. From the tower it is assumed that there may have been another building - the castle palace.
Today you can see the core of Brezovička Castle - Hamborek on the top of the hill about 7 meters wide, with a length of about 40 meters. The orientation is north-south.

Directly in front of the castle there are other castle ditches and broken ramparts that protected the sides of the castle. The sickle-shaped lowered step on the outside of the crown of the rampart probably facilitated passage through the access road that led through the first ditch. Its embankment joins the slope of the second rampart.

The castle is part of Šariš Castle Road

Source:treking.cz
Photo: treking.cz, Ing. Kotulič

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Municipality Brezovička Municipal Office Brezovička 8 082 74 Brezovica nad Torysou Tel: +421 51 459 12 35 E-mail: obec@brezovicka.sk, ocubrezovicka@gmail.com Getting to the place: In the village of Brezovička, head towards the church, where you can park your car and take the road to the left, then follow the straight dirt road towards the forest. About halfway along the dirt road, turn left and continue climbing uphill. You should pass a cross and eventually enter the wood. The forest road turns and skirts a wooded knoll. The castle is a short distance from the woodland path, a prominent castle moat is a sign that you are on the site. Estimated length and time : 1 hour and 30 minutes with an elevation gain of over 300 metres.

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