The most attractive tourist locality of the northern Slovakia is the Orava Castle lying on the river Orava near the village Oravský Podzámok, below impressive cliffs. In 1370, it became a county castle and the seat of the Orava Castle estate, which included almost the whole region of Orava.
The castle, much like others in Slovakia, stands on the site of old wooden forts and it was constructed after the Tartar invasion in 1241. Originally, it was built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles and laterreconstructed in the Renaissance and Neo-Gothic styles.
In the Castle itself Oravské múzeum (the Orava Museum) was established with numerous series of expositions. In the oldest part of the upper castle, an archaeological exposition documenting the oldest history of the Orava settlement is installed. Natural history exhibition is installed in the bottom floors of the central castle with samples of fauna and flora. On the upper floor of the central castle, an ethnographic exposition is placed. Historicalexposition consists of a group of medieval and Renaissance buildings with their original furniture. Seeing the castle also includes short performances due to which it belongs among the most attractive in Slovakia.
Night visits to the Castle in the main tourist season enriched with theatre performances and eerie events are becoming ever more popular.
Access: driving to the parking lot by the river, then walking about 10 minutes
