Renaissance manor house Zborov – Šerédy family
The municipality of Zborov used to be a part of the Smilno estate and in 1414 it got under the wings of the Makovica estate. The manor house was owned by the Cudarov family, the Rozgonyi family, later the Serédy family, and in 1601 the Rákóczi family. The manor house is named after the owner of the Makovice estate, Gaspar Šeredy, who received the Stropkov, Pezinok, Svätý Jur and Makovica estates from King Ferdinand II for his military services. In addition to rebuilding the castle into a modern Renaissance fortress, Gaspar Šeredy also had a manor house built directly in the municipality for residential and administrative purposes. A garden was made around the manor house. In the rear, stables and other outbuildings as well as an impressive hexagonal well were built. After Gaspar’s death in 1555, the manor house was inherited by his brother Juraj, the captain of Košice and the governor of the Šariš county. After his death, the manor house was bought by the Polish Duke Ján of Ostroh who later sold it to Sigismund II Rákóczi. We do not know how the manor house looked like in the Renaissance period because it was rebuilt several times during that time. During the Reformation, the manor house served as an evangelical chapel thanks to the work of the Countess Helena Zrínska, the wife of Francis I Rákóczi. There was also another manor house in the municipality. It belonged to the Rákóczi family and it was separated from Šerédy manor house by a park where Francis I Rákoczi planted the famous limes, earning it a name “Alley of 100 Lime Trees”. Francis enjoyed staying in the manor house and ended many of his letters with the words “Datum Zboroviac sub centrum tiliis” (Tilia is the Latin name of the lime tree). In addition to its historical and aesthetic significance, the alley was also important from the scientific point of view. In 1935, a Hungarian botanist discovered a specific species of lime tree here, which he later named Rákoczi lime tree. The alley had been maintained until the World War I, when it was severely damaged along with the manor house. Not all locals agreed on its restoration, so in 1922, 22 healthy lime trees were cut down and ended up as fuel. The manor house was later owned by the aristocratic families Erdödy and Clary-Aldringen. In 1907 it was bought by the state and served as a forest office. In 1918 it was repaired by the state forest administration and used as an administrative building and also as a lodging. In 1969, the manor house was caught in a severe fire. The manor house was restored by the Restoration of the Zborov Castle Civic Association.
