Castle of Vinné

Castle of Vinné is located on the castle hill northwest of the village of Vinné at an altitude of 325 MSL. Hradný vrch is occupied by the Nature Reserve Viniansky hradný vrch, declared in 1984 on an area of 51.96 ha with the 4th degree of nature protection.

It belongs to the group of National Cultural Monuments of Slovakia. Its origins date back to the 13th century, making it one of the oldest historical monuments in the vicinity. Its main task was to help the surrounding castles of Brekov and Jasenov in protecting the trade route leading to Poland, especially against possible Tatar ambushes. The castle was attacked and destroyed several times.

In 1312, the castle was besieged and damaged by the Omodej family, enemies of King Charles Robert.

Significant damage to the castle occurred in 1466 during the battles of the Hungarian king Matej Korvín with the Polish king Casimir IV. In the following three turbulent centuries, Vinné Castle became part of the local nobility's struggles against the king. In the years 1556-1558, the Michal nobility, under the leadership of Gabriel Perényi, rebelled against King Ferdinand I. In 1594, the imperial army managed to capture and set fire to the castle. So it was the second significant damage in a row. The castle was repaired again and it continued to serve the family of the lords from Michalovce - Eodönfy, Bánfy.

Vinné Castle and its lords were also involved in the last estate uprising, when nobles from Michalovce Ján and Ladislav Pongráci and Imrich Sztáray joined the side of Francis II. Rákoci, the leader of the uprising against Emperor Joseph I. After the suppression of this uprising in 1711, the royal army destroyed the castle by order of the Hungarian Diet.

The last blow was inflicted by Emperor Jozef II, who had the castle demolished to prevent it from becoming a seat of other rebels.

Since 2014, civil association Zemplínsko-užská hradná cesta has started working on the ruins of the castle and is trying to restore the castle again.