Magnate's Castle on Kostolec in Ducové

On top of the hill Kostolec on the edge of the mountain range Považský Inovec next to the village Ducové near Pieštany there stood once a fortified site of a Great Moravian magnate.

The castle had been built in the second half of the 9th century and it demonstrates the rudiments of the Slovak national history. Panels with illustrated comments placed directly on the site provide the visitors with necessary information. Today remains of the fort offer a wonderful view of the lower part of region Považie.

Systematic archaeological research on the hill Kostolec that towers above the village Ducové about 7 km (4.4 mi) north of Pieštany has documented more than 20 millennia of presence of different cultures in this place.

The place on the western hillside of Považský Inovec with wonderful scenery and unrepeatable view has been reconstructed so as to provide a consistent picture of a settlement from the 9th and 10th centuries when the citadel of the Great Moravian magnate existed here. The site is partially fenced by a copy of palisade fortification made of timber and clay.

Foundations of a part of reconstructed fort and the pre-Romanesque church in form of rotunda can be also seen here.

The locality of Kostolec near Ducové maintains the tradition of the Constantine and Methods Pilgrimage, which takes place at the beginning of July.

Magnate's Castle on Kostolec in Ducové is freely accessible to the public.