Turn Castle (, ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 55.
) is a castle near the village of Potoče in the

Municipality of Preddvor The Municipality of Preddvor (; ) is a municipality in Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Preddvor. The municipality was established on 3 October 1994, when the former larger Municipality of Kranj was subdivided into the munic ...

in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

n region of

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 ...

History

The castle was first mentioned in 1408 and was probably built in the mid-14th century. In the early 15th century, it came into the possession of 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 ...

. The original castle was severely damaged in 1439, during the fights between the

Habsburgs 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 ...

and the Counts of Celje, and again by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

in 1473. With the extinction of the Counts of Celje, the castle became a possession of the Habsburgs. Emperor Maximilian I sold it to the local nobleman Jurij von Egkh, who was the general administrator of Habsburg estates 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 ...

, who owned several castles in the region, including Brdo pri Kranju. Egkh rebuilt Turn, using some elements of the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. In 1793 it was acquired by Martin Urbančič (1750–1796), who was also the administrator of

Brdo Castle near Kranj Brdo Castle near Kranj (, ), usually simply Brdo Castle (), is an estate and a mansion in the Slovenian region of Upper Carniola west of the village of Predoslje, City Municipality of Kranj, northwest of Ljubljana. It is the Slovenian governmen ...

. Urbančič was the grandfather of the renowned Slovene poet Josipina Turnograjska, who was born in the castle in 1821. In 1909, the castle was bought by Oton von Detela, who belonged to the local Slovene gentry. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Detela family's property was expropriated by the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. The castle was first used as a military

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

for the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

and since 1962 it has housed a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...

. A bust of Josipina Turnograjska is on the facade of the castle.

References

External links

*
Gradovi v Sloveniji
{{coord, 46, 18, 19.5, N, 14, 25, 58.78, E, type:landmark_region:SI, display=title Castles in Upper Carniola