The Thököly Dining Room

Fragments of paintings and moralising inscriptions dated 1639 survive from the Thököly dining room. The scenes address the fragility of life and human vanity. Accompanying texts explain their meaning, directing attention towards mortality and spiritual matters.

One group depicts musicians: a drummer, a bagpiper and a mandolin player. They belong to the Dance of Death, a motif that places everyone on an equal footing before death, regardless of social status.

Another scene draws on the myth of Diana and Actaeon. When the goddess discovers him watching her bathe, she turns him into a stag. An ancient story thus appears alongside a Christian meditation on mortality.

The current furniture is not the dining room's original furnishing but represents the Thököly period. The family extensively remodelled the castle into a prestigious residence for Spiš nobility. Family memorabilia also include portraits of Imrich Thököly and his wife Ilona Zrínyi, and the coats of arms of Štefan II and Mária Gyulaffy.