Šomoška educational walkway

Somoska

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Šomoška educational walkway
Šomoška educational walkway
Šomoška educational walkway
Šomoška educational walkway
Šomoška educational walkway
Šomoška educational walkway

Route: Parking area – ponds – Bukovinka-brook – Stone Fall of Šomoška – Šomoška Castle
Length: 1,8 km / elevation: 125m / time: 0:40 min. / difficulty: moderate / green marked path

Šomoška CastleN48°10.285' E19°51.411'

On the border of Slovakia and Hungary stand the ruins of Šomoška Castle on a vulcanic hill. The castle was established by the Kačičs at the end of the 13th and at the beginning of the 14 th century. In 1310 the castle became the property of Matúš Čák, but after disintegration of his properties, Tomas Széchenyi obtained it. In 1461 the castle was transferred by the King's donation to the Országh and Losonczy families. Since 1573 till 1596 Šomoška was occupied by Turks under leadership of beg Ali from Fiľakovo. At the end of the 16th century, the castle and belonging properties were owned by Zsigmond Forgách and during the 17th century a centrally ordered fortification was realised. After the defeat of the Rákóczi's war of independence, whose army captured it in 1703, the castle was destroyed by the imperial troops. The original shape of the castle is not known, probably it was a smaller disposition of triangel-shaped ground with no bastions. Later, in the Middle Ages, it was enlarged by a gothic palace in the east and an entrance tower. Cardinal rebuilding was carried out in the 16th century, when the castle was extended with two cannon bastions, a barbakan and two buildings in the northern and southern side. The interior was equipped with chiselled decoration items. The youngest element is probably the hexagonal bastion. The restoration started in the middle of the last century and today it attracts mainly by a restored bastion. The castle is open all year round, but tickets are sold from April to October.

The Stony Waterfall of Šomoška

48,171915 19,857511

The stony waterfall was discovered in the 14th century during the mining of basalt used for the castle building. It’s one of the most interesting anorganic formations of the Cerová vrchovina Mountain. The 9m high stone-creation with five to six-sided columnar separability is slightly bent, as if flows. In such a bent form it is one of Europe´s uniques. The volcano of Šomoška is one of several small eruption centres that were created on deep fractures of the Earth´s crust 4 million years ago, as a result of the thinning of the earth's crust in the inner parts of the Western Carpathians.

Length: 1.43 km
Surface quality: Other: 50% (714.5 m); Dirt: 35% (500.15 m); Gravel: 5% (71.45 m); Rocky: 10% (142.9 m)
Total ascending: 5 m
Total descending: 125 m

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