The Renaissance Manor House Nižná Šebastová
In Nižná Šebastová, the district of Prešov, a unique complex of a fortified Renaissance manor house with a park has been preserved on the left-hand of the Šebastovník stream. The manor house was built in the 17th century as a Renaissance multi-storey building with an attic (decorative wall on the roof). It is assumed that the manor house was built on the site of an older aristocratic residence built by nobles from Šebes around 1533. The original manor house was built from stone or wood.
It is assumed that it was either a side branch of this family or a nobility originally living in a stone castle above the nearby municipality Podhradík who moved to this more comfortable residence after the conquest of the castle in 1528 or after its occupation in 1537. The Renaissance manor house was rebuilt several times. After the construction of the main (residential) building, a fortification with ground-floor corner polygonal bastions and walls between them was probably built in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, the façades of the main building were modified while the building was extended in the southern part following construction of a stone exterior staircase. Until the 20th century, the then-Baroque complex remained the same except for occasional repairs and maintenance works. During World War II, the building was damaged. However, the most damage was done in 1966, when the architecturally valuable main entrance gate to the complex was destroyed and a temporary entrance to the complex was created, which is still there to this day. The damage was caused by a large truck which was too large to pass through the original gate. In 1979, an elevator was built in the manor house, and in 1985, the long-damaged roof was repaired. The beautiful building is now waiting for a planned renovation.
Next to the manor house is a large park. In the past, it earned the name Nobleman’s Garden because it was used by gentlemen on carriages.