The dominant of Trenčín and whole Middle-Váh-Valley (Považie) keeps guard over the old mercantile routes connecting the Mediterranean area with the Baltic and North Europe.
On the locality of today´s castle was built a bulwark in the times of Great Moravia, serving as a community centre. Contemporary castle arose in the 11th century as a borderland stronghold watching important Váh fords and Carpathian passes, through which there led mercantile routes, merging the territory of Northern Hungary and Middle-Slovak mining towns with Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Poland. In the next centuries it became the domicile of borderland commitat, royal and later aristocratic county.
Today there are installed exhibition rooms and many Museum´s expositions inside the castle.
At the upper Castle courtyard, not far from the Matúš´s Tower and next-door to the Fifth Gate, there is situated so-called Summer Tower. This Renaissance building evidently served as a place of relaxation for the castle nobility.
A permanent exposition placed inside is devoted to the history of "Benedictian" monastery at Skalka (traditions of St. Svorad & Benedikt) as well as to archeologic finds, adducing the Preslavonic and Slavonic settlement of this locality.
Upon the castle´s acropolis, there are three palaces. The oldest one of them is Ľudovít´s (Lewis´s) Palace, built in the second half of the 14th century by the king Lewis the Great (now situated right next to the Matúš´s Tower).
On the first floor of the palace, there is placed a permanent exposition of cold weapons and firearms from the 13th to 19th century. We can find here Gothic swords, rapiers, sabres, as well as halberds, javelins and spears. The attention of visitors is mostly allured by Oriental weapons, as yataghans, helmets and parts of armament, which are decorated by the quotations from Koran. There can also be seen boastful guns and pistols of Balkan type. As for firearms, visitors´ attention can be captivated by the Prussian needle guns, Austrian weapons, rifles and revolvers. A separate collection is devoted to hunt weapons.
The oldest building of habitable and defensive type in the castle is a capital tower (bergfrid; donjon), usually called Matúš´s Tower (Matthias´s Tower).
It was built by the end of the 11th century in Romanesque style and in about 1270 it was built round by a brick cloak and arranged in Gothic style.
Source: www. muzeumtn.sk