Orava Castle, in Slovak known as “Oravský hrad” is one of the largest buildings in marvelous Slovakia and the first museums in the country were built there. Which currently preserves the best exhibitions on history, ethnography and natural sciences.
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| Orava Castle |
The museum, in addition to the wonders that it preserves, is interesting for the artistic journey in terms of the architecture that it possesses, because after its construction it was found from the 13th century to the 20th century in a permanent state of restoration. and extension, it has different architectural styles from the romantic, the gothic, renaissance and baroque.
In this way, the place where the castle was built has been inhabited since its beginnings in prehistory, and in 1298 it was owned by Matuš Čak Trenčiansky. Then, in the 14th century, it belonged to King Carlos Roberto and later to different feudal lords.
Today, the museum's ethnographic exhibition features typical dresses from the Orava region. And as the main attraction for tourists, it invites you to discover the incredible legend that its corridors preserve.
"Legend of the castle of Orava
Legend has it that a certain Marek came to Orava and saw the impressive rock on the river where Orava Castle is today and said: even if the devil himself has to help me, I will build a castle on top of this rock.
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| Orava Castle |
He had not finished speaking and the devil appeared next to him and offered his help to fulfill his dream. The help was not free, as every good devil looked for the opportunity to get a new soul.
Marek was a little scared but in the end he proposed that if he built him a castle on the highest point with huge rooms in 7 days and in 7 nights he could take his soul in 77 years.
The devil accepted and went to work hard. He carried the material from very far away and had to be careful not to drop it into the river since the castle site is quite difficult to reach.
Seeing the progress of the works, Marek was scared, he did not want to go to hell. He prayed and asked God for help.
The devil kept working and was already glad of the new conquered soul. Last night he only had little things to finish and he also had to carry a large rock. The rock was very heavy and he carried it with great care. When he was almost arriving, he heard the crowing of the rooster. It was the morning of the eighth day. In his anger he threw the rock into the river. To this day it stands there and people call it Marek's rock. "