In the same century the Pongrác family made the decision that finished Starhrad: they built themselves a Renaissance manor house down in the valley at Krasňany and moved into it. A castle on a spur was cold, cramped, hard to supply and reached only by a climb; a manor on flat ground had large windows, warm rooms and a courtyard a carriage could drive into. Strečno, across the water, was better placed and better built and kept its garrison. Starhrad was left to a caretaker — and a castle with a caretaker instead of a lord is already halfway to being a ruin.V tom istom storočí urobili Pongrácovci rozhodnutie, ktoré Starhrad dorazilo: dolu v doline, v Krasňanoch, si postavili renesančný kaštieľ a presťahovali sa doň. Hrad na ostrohe bol studený, stiesnený, ťažko zásobovateľný a dalo sa k nemu dostať len výstupom; kaštieľ na rovine mal veľké okná, vykúrené izby a nádvorie, do ktorého sa dalo vojsť kočom. Strečno na druhom brehu bolo lepšie položené, lepšie postavené a posádku si udržalo. Na Starhrade zostal správca — a hrad, ktorý má namiesto pána správcu, je už na polceste k zrúcanine.