Matthew III Csák
The Apponyi fortress is an ancient hillside castle that may have been first built under the Great Moravian Empire and took a high medieval shape in the 13th century. It once belonged to Matthew III Csák, and subsequently to the King's Demesne for most of the 14th century. It was granted to the family in 1392 by Sigismund of Luxemburg, following which they took up the Apponyi name. The Apponyis made major alterations and extensions in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. It fell into ruin in the 17th century following fire in 1645. Count Lazar Apponyi moved to the more comfortable Apponyi Castle downhill in the village, which he had started to build. The fortress was last used as a stronghold during Rákóczi's War of Independence; following the Habsburg victory near Trenčín in August 1708 it was destroyed like many nobility strongholds in the region, and permanently abandoned. It was first excavated in 1981 and further in 2002, 2008, and 2015–2016.