Blatnica Castle is a Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 whose ruins are situated near the village of Blatnica

Blatnica, Slovakia

Blatnica is a village and municipality in the Turiec region of Slovakia. Administratively it is a part of the Martin District in the Žilina Region. The village is situated under the Greater Fatra Range, at the opening of the spectacular karst Gader and Blatnica valleys...

, on the foot of the Greater Fatra

Greater Fatra

Greater Fatra or Veľká Fatra is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area. It is situated approximately among the towns of Ružomberok, Harmanec, Turčianske Teplice and Martin...

 Range in Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

.

The castle was built in the 13th century to protect a major trade route running from Nitra

Nitra

Nitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center...

 to the north. Soon afterwards it became a royal castle but the kings lost their interest in the castle's development after a new route, through Mošovce

Mošovce

Mošovce is one of the largest villages in the historical region of Turiec, currently in the Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.-History:Many preserved historical buildings are the evidence of the 770 years of its existence...

 and Martin

Martin, Slovakia

Martin is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra mountains, near the city of Žilina. The population numbers approximately 58,000, which makes it the eighth largest city in Slovakia...

 was built. The new owners of Blatnica Castle, the Révay

Révay

The Révay Family was a Hungarian noble family, who owned estates in Turóc county, the Kingdom of Hungary until the early 20th century. Their property included i.a...

 family (from 1540), were more generous and the castle was significantly extended in the second half of the 16th century. The last reconstruction dated from 1744. Since 1790 the castle has been abandoned and has turned into ruins.

The castle is built on typo low ridge of Plešovica which separates the Turiec Basin from the Greater Fatra

Greater Fatra

Greater Fatra or Veľká Fatra is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area. It is situated approximately among the towns of Ružomberok, Harmanec, Turčianske Teplice and Martin...

 Range. It is freely accessible from the village of Blatnica by a marked footpath. The castle remnants are hidden in a forest with limited views at the Gader Valley, which stretches underneath, and the opposite Tlstá

Tlstá

Tlstá is a mountain in the Bralná Fatra part of the Greater Fatra Range, measuring . It is located over the Turiec Valley, rising steaply nearly above the valley bottom. It has rugged slopes with many rock spires and rock terraces under the grass-covered summit...

Mountain.