According to the Guinness Book of Records, the second largest castle complex in Central Europe after Prague Castle is located here, in the middle of a landscape characterized by gently rolling hills. Spiš Castle rises on a rocky travertine cone at a height of 630 meters. Its outer walls alone cover an area of 41,426 square meters. According to excavations, the chain of hills in what is now Slovakia was already inhabited in Celtic times. Spiš Castle, however, was not built until the 12th century and was used as the administrative headquarters of the Spiš landowners. In the second half of the 15th century, the new owner Stefan Zapolya converted the castle into a representative aristocratic residence. A palace, a knight's hall and a chapel were built on the four-hectare site. His son John, who later became King of Hungary, was also born in Spiš Castle. After two devastating fires, the castle was finally abandoned in the 18th century. It gradually fell into ruin and was only awakened from its deep sleep by monument conservationists in the 1970s. And the extensive work was worth it: since 1993, the Spiš Castle has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and today houses a museum.