Introducing Trenčín

What’s not to like about a place with a mighty clifftop castle, pretty Renaissance buildings and a lively university population?

Here you could easily spend a couple of days touring the Roman fortress, day-tripping out to Beckov castle or the spa town Trenčianske Teplice, or revelling at night-time. There are several small museums in town, including an excellent contemporary Czech and Slovak art museum.

For centuries Trenčín castle has guarded the southwestern gateway to Slovakia, where the Váh river valley begins to narrow between the White Carpathians (Bilé Karpaty) and the Strážov hills. Roman legionnaires established the outpost of Laugaricio here in the 2nd century; a rock inscription dated AD 179 proves it. This was the northernmost Roman camp in Eastern Europe.

The castle that now towers above the town was first mentioned in 1069 in a Viennese chronicle. In the 13th century the castle’s master, Matúš Čák, held sway over much of Slovakia, and in 1412 Trenčín obtained the rights of a free royal city. The present castle dates from the 15th century, and although both castle and town were destroyed by fire in 1790, much has been restored.

Modern Trenčín is an important centre for the Slovak textile industry and a bustling little community.