Trenčín Heritage Site

€20 silver collector coin

Trenčín is the most important town of Slovakia’s Central Považie region and the seat of the Trenčín Self-Governing Region. Its dominant landmark is the medieval castle, standing on a rock that bears a well-preserved Roman inscription from AD 179. The castle tower is named after the castle’s best-known owner, the oligarch Matúš Čák, who ruled over extensive estates at the end of the 13th century and beginning of the 14th century. The medieval town nestling below the castle hill grew up on an ancient trade route along the Váh river. It was built around a road that widened to form an irregularly-shaped market square. Trenčín was granted town privileges in 1412, and its fortifications were built over the course of the 15th century. The Lower Gate is preserved as a remnant of that structure and stands as one of the traditional historical landmarks of this former provincial capital, along with the gothic Parish Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary (on the slope above the town) and the baroque Church and Monastery of St Francis Xavier (situated in the main square). The preserved historical centre of the town was declared a historical preservation area in 1987.