Pevnosť je prístupná návštevníkom počas celého roka, avšak v zimných mesiacoch sa prehliadky vykonávajú v závislosti od počasia.
For safety reasons it is possible to take a tour in the Fortress only with a tourist guide, according to the specified Rules and Opening Hours.
Individual visits (without a guide) are not possible due to the unsatisfactory condition and great size of the Fortress!
The minimal number of visitors for a tour is 4.
Visitors are advised to have comfortable hiking shoes, as the tours take place outdoors for approximately 1 – 1.5 hours.
We also recommend bringing flashlights, as the tour route leads through dark underground corridors. The length of the tour is approximately 1.5 km.
The fortress can also be visited with wheelchairs, prams and dogs (however, dogs must be on a leash and must be provided with muzzles).
It is strictly forbidden to move around the Fortress outside the visiting route without a guide! Climbing to the top of the earth mounds is forbidden! There is the risk of falling down or getting injured!
Parents or accompanying adults are responsible for the safety and behaviour of their children!
During the tour, our visitors will learn the rich and interesting history of the fortress from professional guides.
New Fortress
The medieval town of Komárno once stood on the site of the present New Fortress, which at the end of the 16th century was almost completely destroyed by the Imperial soldiers and the Turks besieging the fortress. The remains of the old town were completely removed during the construction of the New Fortress.
The building of so-called New Fortress began in 1654 at the command of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. The purpose of building the New Fortress was the protection of the obsolete Old Fortress. Its rapid completion was due to the conquest of the fortress in Nové Zámky by the Turks in 1663/1664. For this reason, the following monarch Leopold I ordered the building of Fortress Leopoldov near Hlohovec and the rapid completion of the New Fortress in Komárno. It had a pentagon-shape ground plan with five dense bastions.
After the southern part of Hungary was liberated from the Turkish occupation in 1699, the importance of the Fortress in Komárno decreased. In 1763 and 1783 Komárno was hit by two powerful earthquakes, which greatly damaged the Fortress. As its restoration was unprofitable, the Fortress was sold at a public auction.
The Fortress got into the centre of attention again after the Napoleonic Wars, at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1808 the whole New Fortress was rebuilt from bricks. It was the so-called Crownwork with three bastions. The building of the Army barracks was built in 1810 and the Headquarters Building in 1815.
A wide, deep ditch ran around the New Fortress, which was flooded from the Danube or the Váh rivers.
Leopold’s Gate
It is the main entrance to the Fortress in Komárno, named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1685-1705), who ordered the completion of the New Fortress. In the past, a wooden bridge led to the gate, which was protected by a chain bridge.
After the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the gate was damaged several times. Its partial renewal took place in 1992. In 2013, it underwent a complete renovation, when the coat of arms of the Habsburgs with the double-headed eagle was placed back on top of the watchtower.
Statue of the Stone Virgin
The statue of a young girl, which symbolises the invincibility of the Fortress, is located on the westernmost tip of the Madonna Bastion in the New Fortress. The girl holds a laurel wreath in her hand and there is a Latin inscription “NEC ARTE NEC MARTE” under the statue, which means: Neither by trick nor by force.
According to the legend, the statue depicts a girl, who decided to set the Turkish camp on fire at the time of a Turkish siege against the fortress. The Imperial soldiers finally managed to defend the Fortress and expel the Turks from Komárno.
Army Barracks
It is a two-storey “U”-shape building, which copies the shape of walls of the New Fortress. It was built in 1810 for approximately 2000-2500 soldiers. In the centre of the building there was a small chapel.
With its 540 meters in length, it is one of the longest buildings in Central Europe.
At the time of the Soviet occupation there were about 4,000 soldiers in the Fortress. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Army, the building got into a desolate condition.
Part of the roof structure was reconstructed in 2015, thanks to the financial subsidy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
There is a large courtyard in front of the building, which is called “buzerak” (parade ground – military slang).
Headquarters Building
Residential building for the officers and commanders of the Fortress, built in 1815. After building the Officers’ Pavilion near the city centre (1858-1863) the headquarters building in the New Fortress served as headquarters for the entire fortification system.
It served military aims until 2003, when it was used by the Slovak Army as barracks for the research corps. 3853.
Gunpowder Depot of St. Barbara
It is a military ammunition store, which was built at the beginning of the 19th century for storing gunpowder in small barrels in times of war or threat.
. It served its purpose until the occupation of the Fortress by the Soviet Army, when it was used as a laundry,
as well as fuel and lubricant storage.
At present, after its overall reconstruction, the ammunition depot is used as an exhibition and lecture hall.
Old Fortress
It is the oldest part of the fortification system, built in the 16th century, as one of the first bastion fortresses against the Turks in the territory of Hungary. A medieval stone castle stood in its place in the past, which completely disappeared during the Turkish War in the 16th century. The Italian architect, Pietro Ferabosco is considered to plan the fortress.
There was a deep moat in front of the fortress, which was flooded with water from the River Danube in case of need. There was a small military town with several buildings in the large courtyard of the Old Fortress, which disappeared in 1783 when a strong earthquake shook the city. The renewal of the fortress was unprofitable and it was sold out at a public auction.
The fortress got in the centre of attention once again as a result of the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century. Between1827 and 1839 the entire exterior of the Old Fortress was rebuilt and modernized as one of the main military points on the River Danube.
After the demise of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy the Old Fortress served various purposes. From 1968 to 1990, it was one of the largest Soviet ammunition warehouses in Slovakia. Today its area is cleaned and open for the general public.
Ferdinand’s Gate
It is the main entrance to the Old Fortress dating back to 1550, built at the command of Emperor Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, after whom the gate is named. Above the entrance gate, where there was a drawbridge in the past, there are two stone memorial plaques.
The upper plaque depicts the coat of arms of Ferdinand I with the Imperial eagle. Above the coat of arms there is the royal crown and around it there is the chain of the Golden Fleece with a small lamb. The entire coat of arms is held by two griffins on the sides – mythological creatures with the head and wings of an eagle and with the legs of a lion. According to the restorers, who renovated the gate between 2009 and 2012, the entire coat of arms was brightly coloured.
The lower panel lists some of Ferdinand I’s numerous titles in Latin.
Blind Labyrinth
Apart from several mysterious places in the Old Fortress, one can find the so-called “Blind Labyrinth” there – an attraction full of obstacles, where visitors can try out their senses besides their sense of orientation in complete darkness.
