Sunday, January 21, 2007

Cachtice: The home of Elizabeth Bathory




















Cachtice is a small town in the lesser Carpathian mountains. As a town, it is a typical Slovak town with baroque architecture. It has an old church, a churchyard and a restaurant. However, its beautiful castle ruins are world-famous for being the home of being the former home of Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who became known as the female dracula or the bloody countess. According to legend, Bathory drained the blood of her victims and bathed in it.
To get there from the village, you have to take a 30-minute hike up the hill. The place is free of charge, and the views are tremendous. On the downside, there is no information in English, so you will have to rely on kind Slovaks to translate for you. Alternatively, check out the link.
http://www.spectacularslovakia.sk/ss2002/cachtice_ascii.html


It takes approximately 90 minutes to get to Nove Mesto Vahom from Bratislava and takes a further 5 minutes by another train. Be warned!! Getting back can be a problem on Sundays, especially as trains are infrequent
More later plus pics

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ianie, I want to see the ruins!