Sevnica Castle, Sevnica, Slovenia

Sevnica Castle it dominates the old town of Sevnica and offers views of the surrounding countryside.

The Archdiocese of Salzburg held local estates since 1043 and Sevnica Castle was mentioned for the first time in 1309. The origin of the building was not documented but it was most probably built during the bishopric of Konrad the First von Abensberg (1106–1147), who rebuilt and colonized this area devastated by Hungarian invasions in the 10th century and in the beginning of the 12th century. The only remaining part of the original building is a tower nowadays included in the left wing of the castle.

The so-called Lutheran Cellar was built in the mid-16th century at the southeast side of the Castle Hill. The interior of it embellish frescos dates from the second half of the 16th century.

Between 1595 and 1597, Innocenz Moscon rebuilt the castle in then contemporary Late-Renaissance style and gave it thus its present form. The castle remained the ownership of the Archdiocese of Salzburg until 1803. The storms and fire damaged the castle in 1778 and 1801.

In 1803 Count Johann Händl von Rebenburg became the proprietor of Sevnica Castle. He lowered the battlements, filled in the moats, planted the trees in the park around the castle and made a vineyard with terraces at the south side of the castle hill.

As many other castles in Slovenia, Sevnica Castle was nationalized after the World War II and the precious furniture, which remained untouched until then, vanished. Poor families without apartments of their own were accommodated in the castle and they contributed to the ruination of its property. The park was in a state of total neglect and nobody cared about the vineyard anymore, so even the wine cellar beside Lutheran Cellar was not needed and was removed. The castle has been restored since the 1960s.

Today, Sevnica Castle houses the School and Firefighting Museum, the Museum of Exiles, and an exhibition of decorative arts.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Fabian (7 months ago)
Beautiful castle with an extra charge for tourists. We had an very interesting tour through the castle. Our guide made it very interesting and explained a lot. The castles surroundings are incredible. Incredible is also, that people who don’t speak the Slovenian language have to pay 2€ more for the foreign tour. That’s the first time we encountered that in Europe. For Slovenians it’s 8€, everyone else 10€. That’s just greedy. I don’t think the extra money goes right to the guide. It’s not about the 2€, it’s a general thing. Besides that the castle and the tour are 5 Stars.

Noah Segal (2 years ago)
Decided to make a detour to Sevnica on the way to Ljubljana, and we were not disappointed. The castle has absolutely stunning views of the area. The tour is pretty good - lovely guide, and interesting artifacts. The curation was a bit all over the place, they have art from current artists from the area, they have a room dedicated to the firemen of Sevnica, and a room that’s dedicated to the Rotary club of Sevnica, and more. The rotary club room was a bit weird but I’m here for it! Would recommend.

Antonija Perkovic Prpa (2 years ago)
Guided tour only!!! Have a look at the tour times! Very, very nice guide. Beautiful castle and the park around it.

sevda akyuz (2 years ago)
Quaint little castle. Lived in until 1970s. The last aristocratic owner was Countess Matilda, associated with Queen Sisi. Matilda left in 1940. After WWII, the castle was nationalized, and poor families settled there. They did a lot of damage to the property though. So, it was turned into a cultural center in the 70s. There is a vineyard and winery attached.

Aliyeh Jafari (3 years ago)
Visiting a beautiful castle up in the hills has its own pleasure because you can enjoy stunning nature, a fantastic panoramic view of Sevinca as well as visiting a castle.

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