Ptuj Castle () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Ptuj Ptuj (; , ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, eighth-largest town of Slovenia, located in the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria (northeastern Slovenia). It is the seat of the City Municipality of Ptuj, Municipality of Pt ...

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 stands on a hill alongside the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

River overlooking the town, and it is a prominent landmark.

History

The castle was built in the mid-12th century, when it was constructed to defend against the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. When the castle was built, the town of Ptuj was part of the

Archdiocese of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, ...

. It was owned by the Jesuits of Zagreb for some time. In 1656, due to financial hardship, the Jesuits sold the castle to the Holy Roman Field Marshal Walter Leslie, a Scot by birth. The castle was thoroughly rebuilt during the Baroque period. Due to the end of the Turkish invasions, the castle lost its defensive character. General Walter Leslie turned it into a rural residence and the seat of a landed estate. His descendants owned it until 1802. After the extinction of this line of Leslie family, the estate was inherited by their relatives, the Dietrichsteins, but they became extinct in 1864 as well. After their extinction, the castle was bought in 1873 by Countess Therese von Herberstein (1822-1895), eldest daughter of Joseph Franz, Prince of Dietrichstein. It remained in the possession of Herberstein family until 1945 when the castle became nationalized.

Museum

In the years after 1945 all the buildings on the hill inside the castle were nationalized and converted into a museum of regional history.

Gallery

Image:Ptuj.jpg, Ptuj Castle above the town Image:Ptujski grad 03.jpg, Ptuj Castle with courtyard Image:Ptuj_(74)_(5338717339).jpg, Antiques displayed in the castle Image:Ptuj panorama 01.jpg,

and Lake Ptuj seen from the castle

References

Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Castles in Styria (Slovenia) Ptuj {{Slovenia-castle-stub