The Baumkircher Tower also known as Tabor Castle or Lower Castle (Spodnji grad), is a defensive tower

Watchtower

A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...

 or small castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 located in the town of Vipava

Vipava, Slovenia

Vipava is a small town in western Slovenia with 1500 inhabitants. It is the center of a municipality with 5,185 people. Vipava is built near the numerous sources of the Vipava River, in the upper Vipava Valley, 102 m above sea level...

 in southwestern Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

.

History

The tower was built by Herhlin Kranspergar in 1342, as a fortification guarding the adjacent stone bridge across the Vipava River

Vipava River

The Vipava or Vipacco or Wipbach / Wippach is a river that flows through western Slovenia and northeast Italy...

. In 1386 , the knight Haertl sold it to Hermann I of Celje
After passing from their hands to the Patriarchate of Aquileia

Patriarchate of Aquileia (State)

The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an Imperial State in the Friulian region of Northeastern Italy under the control of the Patriarchs of Aquileia.- Foundation :...

 to the Habsburgs, it was given in fief to the knights Baumkircher, who lent it its current name. The family retained it until 1471, when then-owner Andreas Baumkircher instigated a revolt of the Styrian nobility against Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 Frederick III

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...

, and was beheaded for treason in Graz

Graz

The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

. The castle then reverted to the duchy of Carniola

Duchy of Carniola

The Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana...

, and was managed by its officers and leaseholders. The latter included Jurij Gallo, who between 1517-1521 subleased the tower to Carniolan vicedom (bishop's deputy in secular affairs) Erasmus Braunwart.

From either 1533 or 1624 (sources vary) to the end of World War I, the castle was a possession of the Lanthieri family.

The preserved elements of the structure include a part of the old main building, the defensive tower, and a partial wall with a gateway and a stone relief of the Lanthieri arms, dated 1653, set above the portal.

Sources

• Castles, Mansions and Manors in Slovenia (Didakta, January 1995, ISBN 8677070842) by Ivan Jakič (Gradovi, dvorci in graščine na Slovenskem),
• vlaki.net Photos of the castle at Vlaki.net