Ortnek Castle ( sl, Ortneški grad; also known as the Old Castle ()) 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 in the vicinity of the town of

Ribnica, Slovenia Ribnica (; german: Reifnitz''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 48.) is a town in the Municipality of Ribnica in southern Slovenia. It is ...

. The ruin stands on Big Žrnovec Hill (), near the village of Hudi Konec.

History

In 1161, Count Otto II of Ortenburg erected a small fort at the site. By the early 15th century 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 Ottoman 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 of Moscon; the

castle chapel Castle chapels (german: Burgkapellen) in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the ...

of St. George dates from this phase. Its final owners were the Kosler family; The castle was acquired in 1823 by Johann Kosler Sr. (1780–1864),Kosler family, 1841–1942
/ref> the father of

Peter Kosler Peter Kosler or Kozler (16 February 1824 – 16 April 1879) was a Carniolan lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and businessman. He was of ethnic German origin, but also identified with Slovene culture and advocated the peaceful coexis ...

. Johann Kosler Jr. (1819–1898) and his family moved from the castle to the more convenient Lower Ortnek Castle on the road from Ljubljana to Kočevje in 1884. The last owner of the castle was Oskar Kosler (1898–1959), who lost the property when it was nationalized by Slovenia's postwar communist government in 1946.Vilhar, Črtomir. 1991. "Kozler." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije,'' vol. 5, p. 354. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.

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

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 ...

References

Castles in Lower Carniola Municipality of Ribnica Ruined castles in Slovenia {{Slovenia-castle-stub