Ortnek Castle
Encyclopedia
Ortnek Castle or the Old Castle ( or Stari grad) is a 12th-century castle
ruin in the vicinity of the town of Ribnica
, Slovenia
. The ruin stands on the hill Veliki Žrnovec, near the village of Hudi Konec.
the castle was inherited by the Counts of Celje; in the late 15th century it passed from the Habsburgs to the house of Lamberg. Peasant revolts and Turkish raids damaged the castle, necessitating a thorough Renaissance rebuilding. Sold off in the late 16th century, it lost most of its importance. Another remodeling followed in the 17th century, by the Counts Mosconi; the castle chapel of St. George dates from this phase. Its final owners were the Kosler family, who acquired the castle in 1823 and moved from it to the more convenient Lower Ortnek Castle on the Ljubljana - Kočevje road in 1884.
.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
ruin in the vicinity of the town of Ribnica
Ribnica
Ribnica is a town and municipality in southern Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region. Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been settled at least since the late Bronze Age between 1300 and 900 BC...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. The ruin stands on the hill Veliki Žrnovec, near the village of Hudi Konec.
History
In 1161, Count Otto II of Ortenburg erected a small fort on the site. By the early 15th centurythe castle was inherited by the Counts of Celje; in the late 15th century it passed from the Habsburgs to the house of Lamberg. Peasant revolts and Turkish raids damaged the castle, necessitating a thorough Renaissance rebuilding. Sold off in the late 16th century, it lost most of its importance. Another remodeling followed in the 17th century, by the Counts Mosconi; the castle chapel of St. George dates from this phase. Its final owners were the Kosler family, who acquired the castle in 1823 and moved from it to the more convenient Lower Ortnek Castle on the Ljubljana - Kočevje road in 1884.
Current State
Several furnishings from the chapel of St. George, including three carved altars, paintings by Hans Georg Geigerfelder and a pulpit dated 1641, were removed from the site for safekeeping. The chapel's icon of St. George can be seen in the National Gallery in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.