Čušperk (; german: Zobelsberg) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the

Municipality of Grosuplje The Municipality of Grosuplje (; sl, Občina Grosuplje) is a municipality in central Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Grosuplje. It lies just south of the capital Ljubljana in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is ...

in central

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 lies in the hills south of Grosuplje in the historical region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

. The municipality is now included in the

Central Slovenia Statistical Region The Central Slovenia Statistical Region ( sl, Osrednjeslovenska statistična regija) is a statistical region in central Slovenia. Geography This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km², with a ...

Name

Čušperk was first attested in written sources in 1220 as ''Czobelsperch'' (and as ''castrum Zobelsperc'' in 1248 and ''Zusperch'' in 1400, among other variations). The name originally referred to the castle located at the site and, based on medieval sources, is derived from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

''Zobelsberc'', a compound of ''zobel'' ' sable' + ''berc'' 'mountain'.

Čušperk Castle

Čušperk was the location of 12th-century Čušperk Castle ( sl, Čušperški grad, german: Zobelsberg), also known locally as Old Castle ( sl, Stari grad).Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 127. The castle was built on top the foundations of a prehistoric fortification and was first mentioned in written sources in 1248. The castle's ownership was taken over by the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje ( sl, Celjski grofje) or the Counts of Cilli (german: Grafen von Cilli; hu, cillei grófok) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes ...

from the

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of Ortenburg (german: Grafen von Ortenburg) were a comital family in the mediaeval Duchy of Carinthia. Though they had roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Imperial Counts of Ortenburg, a branch line of the Rhenish Fra ...

in 1418, after which ownership passed to the Habsburgs in 1456. A provincial court with the authority to impose the death penalty was established at the castle in 1457. Emperor Frederick III pledged the castle to the Auerspergs in exchange for

Kostanjevica na Krki Kostanjevica na Krki (; also ''Kostanjevica ob Krki,'' german: Landstraß''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 68.) is a small town in the ...

. The castle was badly damaged in the peasant uprisings of 1515 and 1573, and so the Auerspergs built a new manor along the road in place of the castle. This was taken over by the Barbo family in 1658, but repurchased by the Auerspergs in 1691, who sold the property in 1789, after which it changes hands several times. Baroness Rechbach purchased the castle in 1915, and during the interwar period it was owned by the merchant and inn owner Ivan Šteh from Videm. The Partisans burned the castle on 18 December 1943.''Zaveza'' 18, 25 March 2011

Chapel

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in the village was built by the Lords of Čušperk Castle in 1742. File:Čušperk Slovenia chapel.JPG, Chapel in Čušperk

References

External links

*
Čušperk at Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Grosuplje {{Grosuplje-geo-stub