In the local part of Prešov, Nižná Šebastová, a unique complex of a fortified Renaissance manor house with a park has been preserved on a slight elevation, on the left-hand terrace of the Šebastovník brook. The manor house was built during the 17th century as a Renaissance two-storey building with an attic (decorative wall on the roof). It is assumed that the manor house was built on the site of an older noble residence, which has been mentioned in the village since at least 1533. The nobles from Šebeš had a stone or perhaps just wooden residence built here.
It is estimated that it was either a side branch of this family or the nobility originally residing in the stone castle above the nearby village of Podhradík, which moved to a more comfortable residence after the conquest of the castle in 1528 or after its occupation in 1537. The Renaissance manor house was gradually modified, and after the construction of the main (residential) building, fortifications with ground-floor corner polygonal bastions and walls between them were apparently still being built in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, the facades of the main building were modified, which was enlarged by an extension in the southern part, where a stone exterior staircase was built. Until the 20th century, the Baroque complex was mainly the subject of repair and maintenance work. During the Second World War, the building was apparently damaged, but the greatest historical damage was caused in 1966, when the architecturally valuable main entrance gate to the complex was destroyed. This created a makeshift entrance to the complex that remains to this day. Sadly, this only happened because larger trucks did not pass through the original gate. In 1979, an elevator was made in the mansion and in 1985 the long-damaged roof was repaired. The magnificent building is awaiting a long-planned restoration.
The manor house also includes a large park. In the past, it earned the name "Gentlemen's Garden" because it was used by gentlemen in carriages.
Source:Korzar, KPU
Photo: Wikipedia/Kotulič Jozef
