Branik Castle ( sl, Grad Branik, ), also known as Rihemberk Castle (''Grad Rihemberk'', ), is a 13th-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 ...

above the village of

Branik Branik (; it, Rifembergo, german: Reifenberg) is a village in western Slovenia in the Municipality of Nova Gorica. Until 2011, Pedrovo was a hamlet of Branik. Name The name of the settlement was changed from Rihemberk (earlier ''Rifenberg'', fr ...

, near the city of

Nova Gorica A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

in southwestern

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 ...

History

Fortified settlements have been present on the hill above what is now the village of Branik since prehistoric times; the site was once occupied by a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

. The date of the founding of the castle is unclear, but the noble house of Rihemberk ( sl, Rihemberžani) is first recorded in 1230, originating from Riffenstein in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, now the castle of Reifenstein in

Freienfeld Freienfeld (; it, Campo di Trens ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about north of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,668 and an area of .All ...

, northern Italy. The name ''Rihemberk'' derives from the name of the family's former castle, and is a compound of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

words ''Riffe'' ("ridge") and ''Berg'' ("mountain"). The family received substantial properties in fief from the

Counts of Gorizia The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...

, including estates in the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; sl, Vipavska dolina, german: Wippachtal, it, Valle del Vipacco) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovš ...

, the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills sur ...

, in the outskirts of the town of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

and elsewhere. The Rihemberg male line died out in 1371. In the 14th and 15th centuries the lordship contracted to the immediate surroundings of Rihemberk, a small part of the Vipava Valley, and the Kras Plateau. After the Counts of Gorizia died out in 1500, the castle passed to the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. In 1528 both it and the surrounding lands were acquired by the noble house of Lanthieri, who added a residential

palacio Palacio (''palace'') is a Spanish habitational name. It may have originated from many places in Spain, especially in Galicia and Asturies. Notable people with the surname include: * Agustina Palacio de Libarona (1825-1880), Argentine writer, sto ...

in 1649. The Lanthieris retained the castle for a full 417 years, until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On the night of 22 July 1944, the Partisans burned and dynamited the castle. All of its furnishings were destroyed. In 1945, the castle was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

. Since the 1980s, it has since been gradually restored, though all prewar structures have not yet been fully rebuilt. In 1999, the castle was declared a cultural monument of national importance.

Architecture

The Romanesque foundations of the castle are still evident in some places. The castle complex is centered on a prominent 13th-century round keep, around which a substantial

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

residential tract was later developed, all surrounded with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

defensive walls and 16th century corner turrets. The older structures contain some

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

elements, notably the castle chapel.Vino Filipcic - aerial photo of castle
/ref> The building took its current shape in the 17th/18th centuries, when it was turned into a Baroque residence. Significant remodeling was carried out in the 19th century as well, notably the romantic

crenellations A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

of the walls. A partially preserved walled garden once occupied the south slope below the castle. The design of the entrance gate suggests the garden belongs to the Baroque period of the castle.

Gallery

Image:GradBranik3.JPG, Branik Castle, main gate Image:GradBranik1.JPG, Branik Castle, keep Image:GradBranik2.JPG, Branik Castle, panorama

References

External links

Satellite photo
{{coord, 45.8512, 13.7918, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Castles in the Slovene Littoral City Municipality of Nova Gorica