Bojnice Things to Do

If you are traveling with kids and they are exhausted and cranky from going through the castle without seeing any ghosts then just take them to Bojnice Zoo, which is the oldest zoo in Slovakia, dating from 1955. It is large (42 hectares, 100 acres) and was supposed to have over 300 species as of 2006.

Admission is 3 euro for adults, 1.50 euro for kids

Most castles and noble residences seem to have a fairly similar decor throughout in terms of color, intricacy of decor, furnishings. Count Palffy, the last owner of Bojnice Castle was a known art collector and clearly his taste was as varied as it was exquisite. The main rooms of the castle are decorated a bit differently, you have the normal formality of the dining room and portrait halls. But you have the Blue Room which also houses portraits, the Golden Hall so named for the fabulous ceiling carvings. You had a wonderful collection of oriental art in the Oriental Room. The variety in itself was interesting, but the way that it flowed from one theme to the other was very well done and tasteful

There are 183 angels carved into the ceiling of the golden hall. You have to look closely, we were told they are all different. Since the tour was moving pretty fast I really didn't have time to check that very much.:)

This room will strike you first for the understated elegance of the furnishings and the spectacular ceiling. According to the notes I took this was created by a venetian sculptor and was a copy of a famous ceiling in Venice (don't know which one).

Admission to Bojnice Castle is 6.50 euro for adults (half that for children under 15)
Admisssion is daily, except Mondays

Foreign language tours have to be ordered 2 days in advance and must have a minimum of 10 persons. (My guide translated from Slovak for me, I'm sure i missed some things but I got the most important stuff)

Tours last 75 minutes. I felt the tour was fairly rushed but still quite good. You cannot see the castle without being on a tour, so your options are limited.

Important- if you want to take pictures you will have to buy a photo pass (2 euro for cameras, 5 for video machines) Make sure you have extra batteries for your flash (which is allowed) because you will need flash!

The Bojnice altar is a series of 10 panel paintings produced around 1350. The story was that the altar went through a series of owners..it was originally done by Nardo Di Cione in Florence. The date is significant it is right around the time of the peak of the bubonic plague in Europe (1348-50) Apparently it was in several churches/monasteries in Italy. In 1870 the good Count Palffy, an avid collector of art, found the altar in an antique store and bought it.

The altar did not come to Bojnice until 4 years after Palffy's death (1908). In 1933 part of the altar was stolen, which took a year to recover. Later, it was moved to Prague and after much wrangling and negotiation it was returned to Slovakia in 1995.

Today, to assure it is not stolen it was placed in a large room and you are sort of whisked by, you can't really get close to it at all. Though the presentation is pretty, it would have been nice to have had more time to admire it on the tour.

I can't believe that this beautiful town is all the way down at #17 of places to visit in Slovakia. I enjoyed a wonderful two days here in May and it was very memorable. The castle here is one of the most interesting to tour. Interestingly, as the tour was winding down (unfortunately not in English) and I thought we were all done, the tour leader led us down these long stairs to a really cool cave under the castle. The castle itself was fantastic but then to see a cave to boot was really a treat.

The old town walls are nearby and the baths within walking distance of town center were very enjoyable, as well.

On my long trip through Central Europe I had an interesting experience in Bojnice. Inquiring at the local Tourist Information office for rooms, we were told that the TI itself had rooms upstairs. We booked a large room with a kitchenette. It was the best room I got in my entire 34-day trip and it was also the least expensive. Funny how it works that way sometimes.

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Town also offers the oldest ZOO in the state and one of the most romantic castles - Bojnice castle with attractive events like International Festival of Ghost and Spirits, Castle Fairytale, Knights Days, Christmas at the Castle or concerts of Summer Music Festival.

Bojnice gives you lot of possibilities how to spend your free time during the whole year. In winter you can visit ski centers Fačkovské sedlo, Poruba, Remata or Čičmany. In the summer you can swim not only in the spa, but also in swimming pools in Bojnice, Prievidza, Chalmova or Nováky. There is also Nitrianske Rudno Lake suitable for water sports and fishing.

* You should see performance of hawkers Aquila and swordsmen Bojník.
* Local airport offers sightseeing flights and tandem jumps.
* You can visit village Čičmany famous for folk architecture with typical white ornament paintings.
* Very interesting is also wooden Bethlehem with moving figures in Rajecká Lesná.
* Golf players can spend time on golf driving range.