Vígľaš manorial estate

The area east of Zvolen was not settled between the 12^th and 13^th century and was used as a hunting ground for Arpadian kings. The beginnings of the permanent settlement go back as far as foundation of the Vígľaš manorial estate. It is believed that the Vígľaš castle in the valley of the river Slatina was built around the year 1299 by the crusaders coming back to Europe from the Palestine. The village „Zvolenský Svätý Kríž“, present Vígľaš, was first mentioned in the year 1332. During the reign of Charles I of Hungary Vígľaš castle became the property of the king. His son Louis hunted in local forests. Later on when Louis became king of Hungary (known also as Louis the Geat) in 1342 at the death of his father, the Vígľaš castle became the center of the royal property east of Zvolen. The importance of the castle even more grew during the reign of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, who spent relatively much time here in the years 1390 – 1410, mainly during the hunting season. He even issued several official documents (the oldest one dating as far as 9th of July 1390) while being at the castle. The documents from the year 1406 prove belonging of villages Zolná, Sebedín, Zvolenská Slatina a Slatinka to the estate. 

Far-famed hunting grounds belonging to the castle brought the local people many liberties. On 22th of May 1424 (some sources say 1429) Sigismund donated the castle together with the vast grounds and villages Zolná, Sebedín, Veľká Slatina, Malá Slatina, Očová, Čerín, Čačín and Lehota to his wife Barbara of Celje. (She is one of the ancestresses of modern European royal families, her blood flowing in the veins of most of today's dynasties.) She gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth (later known as Elisabeth II of Bohemia), Sigismund’s surviving issue and heiress, who inherited the castle after her death. In the 15th century, during the political turmoils in the Kingdom of Hungary, the estate had many different owners, usually land-owning nobility, who got the castle in exchange for the loans they provided. In the year 1440 Elisabeth donated the estate to Reinprecht of Eberdorf. He did not occupy the castle for a long time while in the year 1441 the castle was donated to the Moravian margrave Jošt of Košovo, the follower of John Giskra. In the year 1497 Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary gave the castle to Blažej Raško in exchange for the loans. After his death, the castle inherited his son Gašpar, the ally of John I Zapolya who was a pretender to the throne (with Ferdinand I) of Hungary between 1526 and 1540. Finally Ferdinand became only Zapolya’s successor and he donated the castle with the whole estate to his sister Maria of Austria. On 10^th of January Ferdinand donated the castle, as a reward, to a soldier István Dobó, later on to Balaš family. At the end of 16^th century the castle became again a royal property. 

The location of the manorial estate brought along a specific role to the castle. In peace it was a popular place for relax and hunting and the local people instead of labor obligations provided services to the visitors of the castle. During the wartime, the castle had very important defensive position and was often attacked. Along with the castles in Slovenská Ľupča, Dobrá Niva a Šášov it created a line of defence of important mining towns. Hard times followed after the attacks of the Hussites when the Ottoman Empire expanded into the central Europe. Ottomans attacked the castle in the years 1564, 1577, 1582, 1587, 1588 and 1593, but never succeeded. In the 17^th century a revolts led by Štefan Bočkay and Gabriel Betlen arised and captured the castle. 

Benedikt Pohranický got the castle in exchange for the loan in the year 1609 and in the year 1636 the estate was donated to Csáky family of Transylvania.