Location: Celje Map
Constructed: 1322, seat of Counts of Celje
Tel. +386 3 544 36 90
Fax: +386 3 428 79 31
Email: stari.grad@celje.si
Celje Castle is a medieval citadel located in a city of Celje in Central Slovenia. The fortress of Celje was constructed in 1322 on a strategic mountain in the valley of Savinja river. It served as a seat of Counts of Celje. After the heir of the family was killed in 1456 the male line was extinguished and the castle was transferred to the royal possession. By the end of the 17th century military fortifications were largely abandoned. In 1755 local Count Gaisruck use these lands and medieval walls and tower for quarry. It caused extensive damage to the structure of the citadel. Only in 1846 reconstruction project began that reconstructed the roof, walls and other structures within the fortress.
Local claim that the old stronghold was connected to Bežigrad and Celje by secret underground passages that the counts used during time of trouble. Other locals also claim that one of the passageways were used to store treasures of the owners. A large dog used to live here, chained to the wall. Anyone who tried to steal noble's possessions was mauled by this aggressive creature. Although there have been some attempts to discover treasure chests in the mountain underneath the castle, unfortunately nothing was discovered.
History
The earliest mention of Celje Castle dates from 1322 "purchases of
Cylie" and was later mentioned under the names "conscience Cili"
(1341), "castrum Cilie" (1451), "gsloss Obercili" (1468), etc.
Typically, the name "Obercili" - Gornje Celje appeared only after
the extinction of the genus Counts of Celje. It was originally
called Celje Castle .
The original castle building (Romanesque castle castle) was built in
the first half of the 13th century by the counts of Vovbrski from
Carinthia on the western rock face of the castle ridge. It had the
character of an irregular perimeter castle. The ground surface has
the form of a pentagon , or quadrilateral with angled south side,
which is adapted to the ground. The first records of the castle date
from 1125 to 1137; it was probably built by the frontier Count
Gunter. In the western part stood a multi-storey building, a palace,
from which the circumferential walls were preserved in the
particles. In the eastern part, a courtyard with a large water
reservoir was closed. On the eastern, most exposed side, there was a
mantle shield, some 3 m higher than the rest of the perimeter wall.
The summit was secured by a hurdo , a defensive corridor. In this
form it represented the typical ministerial castle of the time.
The castle owned by Žovjek and Celje
The original castle probably burned down and collapsed in the
fighting between the Lords of Zovek and the Aufenstein . Entrance to
the castle are Žovnek freeholders arranged on the north side. The
castle before the year 1300 added a new wreath walls and on the
north side to strengthen the defensive tower that protected the
income into the interior of the castle core. The walls ranged from
natural mud in the east to the precipitous walls in the northeast.
The entrance was moved to the south side, where it is today.
After the extinction of their relatives in 1334, the castle passed
into the hands of the Lords of Zovek, from 1341 Counts of Celje, and
from 1436 princes of Celje. The Counts of Celje began to remodel the
fort into a more comfortable residential and official residence.
Around 1400, a four-storey tower was added and later called the
Frederick Tower ( Bergfried ). On the east side of the courtyard was
a large three-story residential tower, which is the best preserved
part of the castle behind the Frederick Tower. On the west side was
a real residential building ( palace ). There were rooms for women
here ( rocky). This section ended near the narrow suburbs and is
poorly preserved. On the south side, a tower of Andrei was added to
the palace. On the upstairs he had the chapel of St. Andrew . The
medieval weapons of the castle could not be conquered, they could
only make him happy, although he made a secret passage from the
castle to the granary. The Counts of Celje had already ceased to
live in the castle at that time and had a castle ( castellan ), the
commander of the castle with an armed escort.
Celje Castle, in front of Savinja in Pečovnik towards the northeast
and along its left bank the railway line to Ljubljana .
The earthquake of 1348 destroyed part of the Roman palace with a
cliff. The demolished part was rebuilt and moved to the inside of
the yard. In the 15th century, they expanded the suburbs on the east
side of the ridge all the way to the rocky pit. Here, the walls
connected to a strong pentagonal defense tower. In the second half
of the 16th century the castle was rebuilt. The defensive walls
increased in the core as well as in the suburbs. The courtyard was
also renovated. The renovated part of the walls was equipped with
Renaissance firing lines.
Upper Celje Castle at the time of the Holy Roman Empire
The first imperial administrator in 1461 became Christopher Pl.
Ungnad, the second in 1463 by Yuri pl. Apfaltrer. In 1470, the Old
Castle was taken over by Andrej pl. Hohenwart. Upon taking over, he
promised to take good care of and maintain the castle. He did this
service until his death in 1503. He was followed by Jacob pl.
Landau, otherwise the ruler's ruler in Upper and Lower Swabia. The
governorship of Emperor Maximilian I , the then German king,
received in 1506, as he Landau loaned 10,000 florins .
In 1514, Landau was still ruler. Two years later in 1516, interim
chief was Bernard Raunacher. The emperor instructed him that he
should immediately hand over the leadership of Celje to Gašper
Herbst and to enjoy himself with the enjoyment of the income of Novo
mesto ( Rudolfswert ). He was later followed by others. Most of the
chiefs held the duties of vicedom and housekeeper. Soon the role of
the castle became less defensive and more and more economic.
The Upper Celje castle was then the most important
castle not only in our country, but in all the Eastern Alps. The
entire castle had an area of approximately 5500 m². From the present
ruins and from the preserved depictions it is possible to get a more
complete picture of the castle. Its architectural development has
put into practice certain solutions that inspired many castles in
the territories, to which the influence of the stars of Celje
reached.
The castle began to collapse shortly after it lost its strategic
importance. At the end of the 17th century, there was no roof on the
Frederick Tower. It is no longer present on Vischer's depiction of
the castle from 1681. In 1748, the roof brick was collected during
the reconstruction of the lower (city) castle. In 1755, the castle
was purchased by Count Gaisruck and also taken down the roof. He
spent the most beautiful stonework on the construction of the Novo
Celje mansion between Petrovci and Žalec . Therefore, it was no
longer possible to live in the castle. The castle was turning into a
ruin. The last inhabitants lived there in 1795.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle was bought by the
farmer Andrej Gorišek in 1803, and the castle stones were used as a
quarry.