Bojnice Castle and Zoo

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Today Sylvia, her brother, his girlfriend, and I traveled to the village of Bojnice to see Bojnice castle. It is the most popular museum/castle in Slovakia and has been shown in several movies. The castle was constructed starting in 1113 and was continually modified through the 17th century. It was owned by King Matthius of Hungary who enjoyed the location and spent a large amount of time there. The last royal owners were the Palffy family, who after several centuries, sold the castle to Jan Bata, who had this property confiscated by the communists.
After seeing the castle, we went next door to the Zoo, which is the oldest in Slovakia. The bears were a main attraction, and each had a large tractor tire chained to the ground as a chew toy. After the zoo we made the long drive back to Roznava.

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Photos

Bojnice Castle
The first castle construction started in 1113.

The Wintergarden
This long room was where plants were stored and could be kept alive during the winter months at the castle.

The Golden Room
Jan Palffy had this ceiling recreated from the "angel ceiling" located in Venice at the Academy of Fine Arts. It is all carved wood covered in gold leaf.

Citadel
A view from the citadel in the highest point of the castle.

Bojnice
I had just come out from behind a wall using the Slovak toilet when a really nice view of the castle appeared.

Bojnice Castle
Sylvia and I after our day in Bojnice.

Bears
Now thats what I call a chew toy.

Corn on the Cob
A vendor at the zoo was selling corn on the cob for the equivalent of a dollar. And I thought I had gotten away from corn.

Nice Job
How would you like to have this guy's job for a day? Basically he rotated the elephants in and out and waited for them to take a bathroom break so he could clean it up.

Cheese strings
We drove through a town famous for its cheese. Sylvia demonstrates how to eat smoked cheese strings.

Comments

[Beata and Tomek]

ow so cute