Stará Ľubovňa (19 April 2016) - Ľubovňa Castle will start the summer tourist season on 24 April. Several novelties are prepared for visitors, including a unique exposition of the life of two princesses from the De Bourbon dynasty.
Ľubovňa Castle is one of the most visited castles in Slovakia. Last year it was visited by more than 143 000 visitors. The castle also earned the title The Best Cultural Facility of the Prešov Region 2015 in the public poll Best in Tourism. The summer season will start on Sunday 24th April at the Ľubovnian Museum - Castle in Stara Ľubovna. A rich programme is prepared, which will include falconers, historical swordsmen, pantomime and traditional crafts. The castle will open two new attractions - an exhibition of Princesses Caroline & Isabel and an exhibition dedicated to historical postcards.
Princesses de Bourbon at Ľubovňa Castle - Caroline and Isabel
The exhibition prepared in the upper part of the Baroque bastion presents the life of two princesses from the De Bourbon dynasty, who were the wives of Andrew and John Zamoyski. Through the collection objects preserved after two generations of the noble family Zamoyski (the last private owners of the castle 1882 - 1944), visitors will be introduced to the time and their way of life in the region.
Not only rare personal Subjects Isabelle De Bourbon (jewellery box, precious jewels, fans), but also objects of her children. "Many of the exhibited objects date from the period when she was a young Isabella as an infanta brought up at the royal court in Madrid. These objects will be presented after expert conservation and restoration, which has also revealed many new facts," informed the museum director Dalibor Mikulík.
The exposition will be supplemented by a rich display of period photographs and promotional brochures from the Vyšné Ružbachy Spa. "These baths can be considered as a magnificent, multi-million investment work of both generations of the Zamoyski family in the north of Spiš. Visitors will also have access to the Jan Zamoyski's study, the husband of Isabelle de Bourbon, in which will be installed his personal objects - books, documents, camera, phonograph, gramophone, smoking set, riding set, or his pKnight of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem," Mikulík added.
In this part of the exposition, the property conditions of the Zamoyskis in Spiš will also be presented, but especially the person of Ján Zamoyski as a visionary in the field of tourism.
For the first time, a silk hand towel embroidered by the daughter of King Alfonso XII of Spain and mother of Isabella De Bourbon will also be on display. This is evidenced by the initials of the author MM (Doña Maria Mercedes) and also by the hand embroidery of the Spanish royal crown. This is the last "museum catch," which came into the collections of the Ľubovňa Museum as a gift of the mother superior of the convent of the barefoot Carmelite nuns in Madrid - Aldehuella, where the last surviving child of John and Isabella, Teresa of Zámoyská, is also a nun. Visitors can see an authentic copy of the wedding dress of Caroline de Bourbon Zámoyská, who was married to Andrei Zámoyský in Paris in 1885.
Ľubovňa Castle
Ľubovňa Castle was built after 1292 on the initiative of King Andrew III of Hungary as a border fortress between Hungary and Poland. In 1412 the castle (together with 16 Spiš towns) became part of the Polish advance and the seat of the mayors of the advance towns. During the Swedish-Polish War of 1655-1661, the Polish crown jewels were hidden in the castle. In 1768, the famous adventurer Móric Beňovský was imprisoned in the castle tower of Ľubovňa Castle. The last private owners of the castle were the family of Zamoyski (1882 - 1945). After a demanding reconstruction, the entire castle area is now accessible. Exclusively also the most extensive building of the castle - the Renaissance palace, where you can find the castle brewery and the exhibition of distilling.
