Topoľčianky

When making decision about where to go in Slovakia, you can add Topoľčianky on your list of places where to go. Topoľčianky is a small town – only with 3000 inhabitants but it has more things to see. It’s famous mainly for its horses, wine and chateau.

 

1.) HORSES

The National Stud Farm in Topoľčianky is known as being one of the most important breeding centers in all of Europe. It is the national center for the breeding and cultivation of horses in Slovakia. It has been approved as a center for recording the breeding books of the Lippizaner, Hucul and Arabian breeds. The center maintains the central records of horses in Slovakia and is the only institution allowed to issue certificates on the provenance of all accepted horse breeds in Slovakia. The National Stud Farm is an active member of all major European and international breeding organizations.

The creation of Czechoslovakia was an historic milestone for horse breeding in Slovakia. As one of the successor states of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Czechoslovakia claimed and received a certain part of the monarchy’s cultural heritage in the form of thoroughbred horses. The Czechoslovak Ministry of Agriculture evaluated the local soil, climatic and wind conditions of the region and on October 15, 1921 the Topoľčianky State Stud Farm was established. Its purpose was to breed and produce for the domestic market breeding stallions of the Arabian, Lippizan, Nonius, English Half-blood and Hucul breeds..
The founding of the stud farm was a truly wonderful idea thanks to which horse lovers and breeders got their chance. And they didn’t waste it. Today the stud farm is not only a cultural treasure in Slovakia, but also a European rarity. No other city on the old continent has a place for the cultivation of for different breeds of horses the way they do in Topoľčianky.

You can find more info at www.sk.nztopolcianky.sk

 

2) TOPOĽČIANKY WINE

Château Topoľčianky is a wine manufacturer established in 1933 in the central part of the Danube plain in the south of the Slovak Republic. With over six million bottles produced each year, it is a leading wine producer in the country and one of the best established wine brands in the Central European region.

They  produce more than 5.000.000 bottles of red, white and rose wines annually. The tradition of growing grapes in this region dates back to 1723, and numerous families have long-established wineries in the area. For selected varieties, we maintain a tradition of closely cooperating with smaller wine growers in the region, and purchase some additional grapes each year from them.

The typical grapes in the region include Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Blaufränkich, Pinot Noir and some regional specialties such as Palava, Devin and Alibernet.The combination of northerly climate and variable soil conditions with professional treatment of qualified viticulturalists produce most interesting wines with top qualities.
More info can be found at www.vinotop.sk

 

3) CHATEAU TOPOĽČIANKY

The town is well known for its majestic manor house which in the 1920s became the summer retreat of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovak Republic. The village retains the charms that led the leader here in the first place, including 400 years of history before Masaryk arrived.

The landscaped gardens which surround the castle are spectacular, and include an early 20th-century hunting lodge surrounded by bronzes of deer and other quarry in their death throes. The castle’s southern wing, reconstructed in the early 19th century, is regarded as the purest example of neoclassical architecture in Slovakia, and is open to the public (the rest is now a hotel).

…and more….

Topoľčianky is unique  also for its European Bison Reserve. By the 1930s only a handful of wisents remained, in Poland. A captive breeding population was established and at the time the Topoľčianky reserve was established in 1958, there were 150. The global population is now over 3,000, and in 2004 the reserve started releasing small groups into the Poloniny National Park in eastern Slovakia, where they appear to be thriving.