Orlové manor-house was built in 1612 by the Hungarian noble, Žigmund Balassa. Originally, it was a Renaissance single-storey manor-house which was supposed to bring the promise of new, modern and comfortable living for the aristocratic Balassa family, which the cold and uninviting Považský castle could no longer provide. At the time, it was quite common for the nobility to abandon their castles – unconquerable, stone fortresses whose defensive function has lost their meaning – and to build modern, comfortable family seats in the town or countryside. The manor-house was then known as Zsigmond Háza, or Žigmund's house.