Slovenské národné múzeum – Múzeum Červený Kameň

About the museum

The history of the museum at Červený Kameň Castle began after the departure of the last owner, Karol Pálfi, in March 1945. After the war, furnishings and works of art from abandoned noble residences in western Slovakia were gathered at the castle; they form the basis of today's collections. The castle was opened to the public on 22 October 1949 and in the same year was declared national cultural property.

In 1967 it was given the name Western Slovak Museum of Applied Arts Červený Kameň, and from 1970 it has operated as a specialised museum with nationwide scope, devoted to the dwelling and life of the nobility. The castle is a national cultural monument. A general reconstruction of the palace and the surrounding complex began in 1976 and was completed on the castle palace in 1998. Since 1979 the museum has been part of the Slovak National Museum, apart from a short interruption.

The permanent exhibition, the last part of which opened in 1997, shows the development of noble living from the Renaissance to Art Nouveau. Visitors pass through halls, the dining room, salons and the knights' hall, and see the original pharmacy, the sala terrena, the chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the cabinet of weapons. Separate tours open up the castle underground and the Renaissance fortress, with its uniquely preserved 16th-century defensive system.

Highlights

• Main and small circuits with twenty-four furnished rooms
• Sala terrena, castle pharmacy and the chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
• Castle underground and the 16th-century defensive system
• Renaissance fortress with bastions, moat and press house
• Children's tour How People Lived in the Castle and the French garden in the forecourt

Permanent exhibitions

• Veľký a malý prehliadkový okruh – Twenty-four furnished rooms show noble living from the Renaissance to Art Nouveau. The small circuit also leads through the sala terrena and the castle pharmacy, the great circuit through the castle underground.
• Renesančná pevnosť – The route leads along the castle moat, through extensive cellars, past the bastions of the 16th-century defensive system and through the castle press house.
• Ako sa žilo na hrade – A children's tour of nineteen rooms in the south-western wing and of the press house, about the everyday life of the castle's owners.

Founded

1949

Operated by

Slovenské národné múzeum

Admission & discounts

The price applies to tours in Slovak (small circuit); tours in a foreign language cost €1 more. Free admission for holders of ICOM, Slovak Association of Museums and Association of Museums and Galleries of the Czech Republic cards, and for journalists; foreign-language texts are free of charge. A tour outside opening hours costs €24 per person (€26 in a foreign language).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Access to the castle grounds is step-free; the tour routes are not.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Children's tour How People Lived in the Castle and the worksheet Hradný záhadník (Castle Riddles), in which children solve seven mysteries of the castle.

Getting there & parking

A yellow hiking trail runs past the castle from Zochova chata to Častá, and a green one from Modra via Harmónia to Sološnica.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant

Café in the castle courtyard and a restaurant on the castle grounds.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit