In 1241, the first enemies attacked the castle. They were the Tatars, who did not however capture the castle. This was probably because unlike the majority of castles in Hungary, which were razed to the ground by Tatars, this castle was built of stone. After having spent many years plundering, the Tatars suddenly left Hungary. ‚… Besides which, we bequeath to the Provost Matthew a suitable place at Spiš Castle for the construction of a tower and palace, which he has permission to build, fortify and maintain for the sake of the defence of the castle and the benefit of the church. In addition, we state that regarding the place and buildings constructed here, he himself and his descendents to this provostship will hold tenure…‘ You have just heard an excerpt from the rolls of Béla IV, from the year 1249. This is the first direct written reference to the existence of Spiš Castle. At that time the Spiš Castle was built only on the highest piece of flat land at the top of the castle hill. It was the property of the King. He kept his royal steward here, who administered the territory in the name of the Hungarian king. According to the rolls mentioned earlier, it was at this very place, beneath the castle acropolis, that he ordered the construction of a square three-storey residential tower. Nowadays, only the foundations of this tower and the narrow Romanesque entrance remain. You are currently standing right beside them. Shortly after the tower had been built, this area was enclosed with a wall, so that today you no longer stand in front of the castle, but inside a small Romanesque courtyard instead. It was entered using the gate through which you have just passed. The provost continued to live inside this residential tower until a much more representative dwelling was completed beside the ruins of the monastery , today’s Spišská Kapitula. They subsequently started to use this tower for gunpowder storage – which is why it no longer stands today. The legend of Knight šaško is connected to this courtyard.
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