Spiš Castle
Four hectares of walls on a hill above Žehra, burnt out in 1780, with a walled church town across the valley and the Tatra airport forty kilometres to the west.
- Arrival
- Poprad-Tatry · TAT
- To the castle
- About 39 km from the airport, in a straight line
- Private jets
- Euro Jet FBO at Poprad-Tatry
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Eight centuries on one hill.
The castle is first written of in 1120. It began as a border fortress and became the seat of the Spiš župan, and in the late fifteenth century Stefan Zápolský made it a residence, with a palace, a knights' hall and a chapel to St Elizabeth. His son Jan, born here, became King of Hungary. In 1780 a fire left the whole complex in ruins, and it is still one of the largest in Central Europe, at more than four hectares.
Work to conserve the walls started in 1970; in 1993 UNESCO inscribed them with the monuments around them. The upper castle is under repair, so visits keep to the lower and middle courtyards for now. Across the valley stands Spišská Kapitula, the church town the region calls the Slovak Vatican, inside fourteenth-century walls.
- The castle museum Rooms in the ruin given over to the castle's history, medieval weapons and the old justice of the lords.
- Spišská Kapitula One lane of Gothic canons' houses leading to the late Romanesque cathedral of St Martin and the bishop's palace.
- Dreveník A nature trail of eight stops between Sivá Brada and the hill of Dreveník.
Arriving
Down from the Tatra airport.
The closest airport is Poprad-Tatry, about 39 km west of the castle as the crow flies, below the peaks of the High Tatras.
- Frankfurt 1 h 30
- Zurich 1 h 35
- Dublin 2 h 50
- Dubai 5 h 30
- Singapore 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
These are Poprad's averages, the nearest on record, some forty kilometres west. The castle opens from April to October, and from May to September its days are longest, when Poprad sees 16 to 20 °C. June is the wettest month, at about 118 mm, and from November to March the gates stay shut.
- -2° J 33
- 0° F 35
- 5° M 39
- 11° A 57
- 16° M 94
- 19° J 118
- 20° J 98
- 20° A 90
- 17° S 62
- 12° O 51
- 5° N 56
- 0° D 41
Where to stay
On the square at Spišská Nová Ves.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
One table worth the drive.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Slovakia. Nothing high end stands near the castle itself; this is one of the top scores in the Falstaff Restaurant Guide Slovakia 2026, on the road from Poprad airport.
- Doma u nás Falstaff, 94 points Tasting menu, Slovak Spišská Sobota, Poprad, about 35 km west
Flying to Spiš Castle?
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