AUTHOR: Ninka

Where: Zvolen – Pustý hrad
County: Zvolen
Time/Duration: early evening

When I was little, I visited several castles along the Hron River with my mom and grandpa. They call it the Pohronská Castle Trail. It consists of castle ruins or sites where castles once stood. In the past, these castles, fortresses, and towers were used to signal danger.

When I was older, I also took part in the event that kicks off the season at the castles along the Pohronská Castle Route.

My friend Alex, his mom, and my mom and I went to Pustý Castle in Zvolen. We shone our flashlights at another castle. My mom says we could see Žakýl Castle in the Štiavnica Mountains, and apparently even the guardhouse in Banská Bystrica and Zvolen Castle.

We walked there from the parking lot below Haputka all the way up to Horný Castle. It was muddy—I even slipped and took a tumble—but it was fun. The walk from the parking lot took us about 40 minutes. It was uphill the whole way, but I made it—only Alex grumbled a little 😊 But he liked it and said it was worth it in the end. By the time we reached the top, it was almost dark. There were a lot of people there and lots of kids with headlamps. I was wearing my dad’s headlamp. My mom was using her phone as a flashlight.

Before we shone our lights on the second castle, an archaeologist or historian from Pustý Castle told us some interesting facts about the castle. There was also a TV crew there filming a news report on it.

We wanted to go last year, too, but we didn’t because it was raining.

We’re planning to go again this year, but I don’t know yet which castle we’ll visit. I hope the weather will be nice so we can see the lights. The event will take place on March 13. In addition to Pustý Castle, Šášov Castle, Revište, Peťuša, Teplica, Sitno Hill, and Žakýl Castle in the Štiavnica Mountains will definitely be participating, as well as the guardhouse in Krupina.