Kostel Castle () is a castle above the settlement of Kostel in southeastern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It is located on a steep hill above the

Kolpa The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from in Roman times; ) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with a length of serving as the border between Croatia and Slovenia ...

River, not far from the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n border.Slovenian Tourist Board site
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History

The site was originally occupied by a smaller fortification, which was expanded into a castle between 1247 and 1325 by the

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of 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 Franconian House of Sponheim, ...

, vassals of the

Patriarchate of Aquileia The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see and ecclesiastical province in northeastern Italy, originally centered in the ancient city of Aquileia, situated near the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It emerged in the 4th century as a m ...

. First mentioned in 1336 as ''castrum Grafenwarth'', its current name is first recorded in 1449 as ''Costel'', a corruption of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''castrum'' 'fortress'. After the extinction of the Counts Ortenburg on 28 April 1418, the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...

inherited their area holdings, expanding the castle into a formidable fortress and renaming it ''Schloss Grauenwarth'', although the surrounding settlement retained the Slavicised

name Kostel. The castle and settlement were both surrounded by a high, two meter thick wall featuring five defence towers, built by order of Frederick II, Count of Celje. The castle's purpose was the defence of the house's landholdings in

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

; it also housed a local

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, and had its own dedicated execution site about 1 km away. After the death of prince

Ulrich II of Celje Ulrich II, or Ulrich of Celje (; ; ; 16 February 14069 November 1456), was the last Princely Count of Celje. At the time of his death, he was captain general and '' de facto'' regent of Hungary, '' ban'' (governor) of Slavonia, Croatia and Dal ...

in 1456 and the extinction of the house, the castle was taken over by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s, who eventually granted the settlement

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, giving rise to a new colloquial name, ''Trg'' 'market town'. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle was an important strategic fortification against Ottoman invasions. With many of the countries of southeastern Europe occupied by or paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire, Slovenia became exposed to further Ottoman inroads into Europe. The castle, standing along one of the Ottomans' common incursion routes into Slovenia, came under attack several times. Only in 1578 did the castle fall, when the garrison accepted supposed refugees from the Ottomans, but who opened the door that night to the Ottoman forces, who killed and captured the inhabitants of the castle and its village and the surrounding region. The depopulated area was then settled by numerous

Uskoks The Uskoks (, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a guerrilla wa ...

Sources

*Jakič, Ivan: "Vsi slovenski gradovi", DZS, 1999,

References

External links

Kostel municipal site
Castles in Lower Carniola Municipality of Kostel {{Slovenia-castle-stub