 They soon acquired a monopoly on the trade of copper and opened new places all over Europe.Around the year 1500 they dominated the production of precious and non-ferrous metals in Hungary.From their earnings they bought lands in the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia), and owned several castles and their surroundings, for example Červený Kameň, Lietava, Tematín, Zvolen, Hlohovec, Orava and so on, as well as land in the other parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and Germany.