CIEE Hiking trip to ruins of the castle Pustý hrad

31 children gathered at the school in the morning. After arriving at the school, the collected documents were checked. Pupils were instructed about health and safety and the course of the day.  They were divided into three groups of 11, 10 and 10 children.  They took the packed lunches prepared in the school canteen.  They took a train to the main station in Zvolen.  This was followed by a walk through the city to the parking lot under the castle Pustý hrad where they had a short break for refreshments and rest so that they could go on a hike up to the castle.  The hiking was fun, and the children were in a good mood. They stopped at the information boards, which the children read aloud.  They learned about the fauna and flora of the area, the history of the castle, and geographical facts. After climbing to the Pustý hrad, they toured the grounds, talked about the castle's history, and explained what the artefacts exhibited on the grounds once served.  This was followed by a break during which the children ate the prepared packed lunch and during which teachers read them the legends about the ruins of Pustý hrad, which really interested them and they started a lively discussion about what it was like in the past. After resting, we went to the lower part of the castle and to the souvenir shop where the children bought souvenirs in the form of pens or magnets.

The oldest medieval building in the Castle is the tower of the royal committee castle from the 12th century.  The demise of Zvolen Castle is dated to the middle of the 15th century. Nowadays we can see:

*  tower and entrance gate at the Lower Castle
*  the tower of the committee castle and the 2nd tower on the Upper Castle, 
* the bastion on the Upper Castle
* area of ​​the so-called  Donč's castle on Upper Castle
* the main entrance gate to the Upper Castle

Due to the increasing cloudiness, they decided to return earlier by train to Sliač. They returned to the school at around 15:45 tired, but satisfied with the whole trip.  Then the children watched a story in the classroom as a reward, during which their parents came to pick them up one by one.
The whole day was very pleasant and pupils evaluated it positively. They really liked the day and went home full of experiences.