Svätý Anton – Slovakia’s Forgotten Manor House

Exhausted after exploring the incredibly beautiful hillside city of Banská Štiavnica, I retreated to my room in a nearby penzion (inn) called Stary Hostinc, near the Svätý Anton Manor house. Before I could lay my head down I felt my stomach rumble and an inextinguishable hunger set in. It was high time to assuage my long ignored hunger.

There was still time to enjoy some traditional Slovak food and drink at the inn. As such I ordered an always delicious Šariš beer from Prešov as well as Hlivový Perkelt and Halušky for food. The latter is a chicken dish with potato dumplings.

The next morning I took to the town and walk up to the Svätý Anton Castle, which is more of a manor house. The name castle stuck as a castle once stood here before the construction of the manor house in 1744. The building was designed by a Viennese architect and was occupied by the gentry, namely the House of Coburg until 1944.

It long served as a hunting loge and inside is house an extensive collection of antique furnishings including the Zlatý salón (Gold saloon), a wedding gift that Maria Theresa gave her daughter Marie Antoinette, a an exhibition on hunting with an extensive collection of trophies.