On the edge of the Slanské Hills, south of the village of Ruská Nová Ves, there are ruins Salt Castle, which is also called the Robber's Castle. The reason for its creation is very interesting - it protected precious salt springs. Some sources even state that the castle dates back to the 9th century.
The castle was built on protection of salt springs known since Roman times. The older "castrum Salis", i.e. Solnohrad, probably stood on a hill in the urban part of Prešov - Solivar. However, it was built of wood and burnt down during the Tatar invasion in 1241.
The new stone Sołnohrad was built on the present site at the end of the 13th century. Due to disputes over profits from the salt trade, the castle was destroyed at the end of 1579 by the army from Šariš Castle.
The ruined castle is in danger of losing its name, which is nowadays known as Zbojnínický hrad (Robber's Castle), despite the fact that there is no mention of robbers in its history or even legends. Therefore, along with the restoration of the castle since 2016, the volunteers are also working on the renaissance of the name Sołnohrad.
SOĽNOHRAD is a part of the campaign Castle Route of the Prešov Region
