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Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Slovakia is proud it has the castle built at the highest altitude in Central Europe - Muráň, which is 935 metres above sea level.
The castle in this reproduction of a painting by Janko Alexy from the 1920s was erected at a considerable altitude. Its position is probably the reason for its name - Lietava, which might be derived form the verb lietať, to fly. It lies in central Slovakia, close to Žilina. It was built during the 14th century and gradually developed into one of the biggest castles in Slovakia.
Lietava was in the possession of the Zápoľský and Thurzo families, who were powerful magnates. But it stopped serving its purposes quite early, some time in the 17th century.
By Branislav Chovan
7. May 2007 at 0:00
