Nitra. He was one of the leaders of the Counter-Reformation in the times when Martin Luther's influence just started to reach the country. His third son Mihály Podmanitzky became chamberlain of King Louis II. He with his brother Stefan participated in the Battle of Mohács, from which he never returned. He left three daughters and sons Jan and Rafael. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the country was divided between two kings, János Szapolyai and Ferdinand I. This dispute used Jan Podmanitzky and his brother Rafael Podmanitzky to gain power in the region; Považský hrad was the centre of their influence. They took the side of János Szapolyai although most of the region was under control of the Habsburgs. Possession of Podmanitzky, with a hard centre Považský hrad withstood attacks of king's army led by Katzainer, to whom Trencin gave up in the summer of 1528, but they even gained new possessions around Lednica. They were famous for their successful raids all around the region. In those times they were limitless rulers of the region; the whole northern part of the county, under their reign, was independent from the rest of the county controlled by Ferdinand I . In the 1530s they became involved in the fight against Protestant family Kostka. For their involvement they were given the manor of Vesprim. They split up in 1537 to create their own manors, leaving Rafael in the region and Jan creating Vesprim manor, but they both still continued with their raids. In 1542 their raids were issued on the king's court. After settling down the possession matters with Kostka, they accepted the results. A great fire started in 1543 which devastated the castle but his owner invested great effort to rebuilding it. After the great burn out of his "eagle's nest" Rafael did not feel safe, so he made an agreement with Habsburgs. Probably the best characterization of Raffael was by József Kocsis, author of several books about castles in Slovakia," Raffael Podmanitzky was no worse but no better than the others living in those times. He was only much stronger." After his conversion he fully dedicated his time to his manor. His loyalty was approved when he was named governor of the northern part of Trencsén County region. The end of their rule came with his death in 1558. His gravestone is still placed in Považská Bystrica. In the grave