Krško Castle ( sl, Grad Krško, german: Schloss Gurckfeld) is a 12th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

ruin to the right of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

above the old center of the town of

Krško Krško (; german: Gurkfeld) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the City municipality of Krško. The town lies on the Sava River and on the northwest edge of the Krško Plain ( sl, Krško polje), which is part of the larger Krka Flat ...

, southeastern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It stands in the territory of the settlement of

Cesta De La Fratta, also known as Cesta, is one of three towered peaks overlooking the city of San Marino, the capital of San Marino. The other two are Guaita and Montale. Overview The tower is located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits. A m ...

. The castle and town are both named after the nearby Krka River.

History

Krško (together with

Brestanica Brestanica () is an urban settlement in the Municipality of Krško in eastern Slovenia. It lies in the valley at the confluence of the Sava River with a minor tributary called the Brestanica. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It ...

) was first mentioned in 895, when the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from Feb ...

gave it to a loyal retainer, Valtun. It is not known whether the castle existed at that time, but it is assumed that it was erected shortly after 1100 by the noble house of Bogen, whose ministeriales were recorded as holding it as of 1154. The Counts Bogen may have obtained the lordship by marriage of Bertold II of Bogen to Seuhard, sister of Count Popo of Carniola. In 1189, the castle was mentioned as ''Castrum Gurkeuelt'', under the Bogen ministeriale Ortolf. In that year Adalbert of Bogen pawned it to

Archbishop of Salzburg The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...

Adalbert III, a relative of his wife, for 800 Freising marks. A term of two years was set for the Bogens to redeem it; the money may have gone toward their participation in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

. The castle was still intact as of the late 17th century, when it was depicted in

Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, p ...

's 1689 ''

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola ''The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola'' (german: Die Ehre deß Hertzogthums Crain, sl, Slava vojvodine Kranjske) is an encyclopedia published in Nuremberg in 1689 by the polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. It is the most important work on his ...

''.

References

Sources

* Ivan Jakič, Vsi slovenski gradovi, DZS,

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, 1997. * Ivan Lapajne, Krško in Krčani (reprint of 1894 issue), Zavod Neviodunum Krško, Krško, 2004. *

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, pr ...

, Slava vojvodine Kranjske, Mladinska knjiga,

, 1978, Kultura imprint.

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Castles in Lower Carniola Ruined castles in Slovenia {{Slovenia-castle-stub