Blatnica

Blatnica (1927–1946 Turčianska Blatnica) is a village and municipality in the Turiec region of Slovakia. Administratively it is a part of the Martin District in the Žilina Region. The village is situated under the Greater Fatra Range, at the opening of the spectacular karst Gader and Blatnica valleys. The ruins of the Blatnica Castle lie on a low ridge over the village. Blatnica is an important archaeological site, where Slavic tumuli with many precious artifacts (such as the famous Blatnica Sword) from the 8th and 9th centuries have been found. The site gave name to the Blatnica-Mikulčice Horizon archaeological culture. The first written mention stems from 1230, however, the castle was built at the end of the 13th century. The first...