Hričov Castle was built by Magister Toluš, the son of Farkaš, in the years 1254 – 1265. After his death, King Béla IV gifted the castle to Mikuláš, nephew of Magister Farkaš. At the end of the 13th century, the army of Matthew Csák of Trenčín occupied Hričov, and it remained in his possession until his death in 1321. Between 1321 – 1323, the castle returned to royal ownership, but no other news of its fate has been preserved until 1392. In 1392, Dezider of Kapla became the castle’s owner. Sigismund of Luxembourg then took over the castle from him and granted it as a “pro honore” to Duke Sandziwoj. Later, the king granted the castle to his wife Barbara of Cilli and in 1437 to the future king Albert. The takeover never took place, however, and Mikuláš Szarlejský then occupied the castle. Around 1456, the castle was owned by the family of Necpaly, and before 1468, Hričov was owned by King Matthias I Corvinus. He then granted it to Blažej Podmanický, and after his death, the king granted Hričov, along with the manor house in Bytča, to William Tettauer. The Tettauers then gave up Hričov at the end of the 15th century. King Vladislav II granted it to Michal Imreffy, and according to the charter of the Trenčín County from 1552, the castellan at the castle was Bartolomej Szunyogh, who had handed it over to Mikulaš Thurn in 1528. He, in turn, allied himself with the brothers Ján and Raffael
Podmanický. The brothers once sided with Ferdinand I and then with the anti-king John. In 1536, King John honoured Ján Podmanický by gifting Hričov to him, and the validity of the charter also applied to his brother Raffael. After the death of King John in 1540 and also after the death of his brother Ján, Raffael returned to the side of King Ferdinand I. The latter gave Hričov to Raffael in 1549. A report has been preserved from these times about the suspicion that there was an illegal mint in the castle. After Raffael’s death in 1559, several people claimed ownership of the castle. The monarch granted the castle to the Thurzo brothers, but they had to pay 12,000 Hungarian gulden for the estate. The Thurzo brothers were unable to raise that amount, so they deposited the castle for the widow of Gaspar Horváth, Jana Likerka. The widow settled at the castle but eventually moved to the manor house in Bytča. František Thurzo obtained the money to pay for the castle, and in 1563 he acquired it along with the manor house in Bytča. He did not use Hričov for residential purposes, instead, he lived in the manor house. From the second half of the 17th century, the new owners of the castle, the Esterházy family, was not interested in repairing Hričov, and in the 18th century the process of its falling into ruin accelerated.

Did you know…?
During the ownership of the castle by the brothers Raffael and Ján Podmanický, a counterfeit mint was established in the castle, where they minted and silver-plated fake copper denarii.