Kozjak Castle
Encyclopedia
Kozjak Castle is a 13th-century castle
ruin on a rocky hill above the village of Dolenje Selce
near the town of Dobrnič
, part of the municipality of Trebnje
in Lower Carniola
, Slovenia
.
) as castrum Cozyak, though the historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor
notes that a knight Ulrik of Kosieck must have already been the owner of the castle in 1274. Initially, the area was part of the lordship of Šumberk; after the Counts of Gorizia
had the castle built, it became the home of the knights of Kosieck and a separate lordship of Kozjak was established around it. After the death of Ulrik of Kosieck in 1317, Ortolf of Kosieck became the owner of the castle until 1329. The last native lord of Kozjak was - according to Valvasor - Louis of Kosieck, who was in 1475 captured by the Turks
. Though his family ransomed him after a year for the sum of 2000 guilder
s, he died soon after his return, having allegedly been poisoned by his captors.
After the extinction of the house, the castle was inherited by the Kosieck's relatives the Sauer family. The first known owner of this house was Pancratius Sauer, owner between 1540 and 1550, followed by his son George Sauer between 1555 and 1556, Jost Sauer in 1576, Jost and George Sauer in 1588, and Johann Louis Sauer between 1594 and 1599. After the tenure of the last Sauer, Franz, the castle was in 1611 bought by his brother-in-law Johann Frederik the noble Räuber, who in 1619 handed it over to his brother Johann Louis. Around 1689, the castle was bought by prince Franz Ferdinand Auersperg, who merged its estate with Šumberk. The castle was partially abandoned at the end of the 17th century, with the uninhabited sections allowed to decay; it is likely that the rest of it was not completely abandoned until the early 19th century. After World War II, Ivan Komelj described it only as a "completely overgrown pile of rocks."
Today, only a few outer walls and a central building survive reasonably intact, though the basic floorplan, including the remains of rooms and the foundations of towers, remains clearly visible.
, which portrays it as a two-story building of rectangular layout and with a sizeable extension on the south side. The east side featurea a prominent platform on raised piles. The castle was surrounded by external walls, fortified with three towers.
, which includes descriptions of medieval castle life and its surroundings during the era of Ottoman incursions.
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...
ruin on a rocky hill above the village of Dolenje Selce
Dolenje Selce
Dolenje Selce is a village in the Trebnje municipality in eastern Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
near the town of Dobrnič
Dobrnič
Dobrnič is a village in the Trebnje municipality in eastern Slovenia. It lies on the Trebnje to Žužemberk regional road and is the largest settlement in the Dobrnič basin. The area is part of the historical Lower Carniola region...
, part of the municipality of Trebnje
Trebnje
Trebnje is a city in Slovenia. The city lies on the Temenica River in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. The settlement developed on the main regional road and railway line from Ljubljana to Novo Mesto. The settlement had a population of about 3,520 in 2010...
in Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
, 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
Built after 1250, the castle itself is first mentioned only in 1332 (in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) as castrum Cozyak, though the historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor
Janez Vajkard Valvasor
Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor or simply Valvasor was a Slovenian nobleman, scientist and polymath, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London.-Biography:...
notes that a knight Ulrik of Kosieck must have already been the owner of the castle in 1274. Initially, the area was part of the lordship of Šumberk; after the Counts of Gorizia
County of Gorizia
The County of Görz was a county based around the town of Gorizia in the present-day Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy.Count Meinhard, descendant of the Bavarian Meinhardiner noble family with possessions around Lienz in Tyrol, is mentioned as early as 1107...
had the castle built, it became the home of the knights of Kosieck and a separate lordship of Kozjak was established around it. After the death of Ulrik of Kosieck in 1317, Ortolf of Kosieck became the owner of the castle until 1329. The last native lord of Kozjak was - according to Valvasor - Louis of Kosieck, who was in 1475 captured by the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Though his family ransomed him after a year for the sum of 2000 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s, he died soon after his return, having allegedly been poisoned by his captors.
After the extinction of the house, the castle was inherited by the Kosieck's relatives the Sauer family. The first known owner of this house was Pancratius Sauer, owner between 1540 and 1550, followed by his son George Sauer between 1555 and 1556, Jost Sauer in 1576, Jost and George Sauer in 1588, and Johann Louis Sauer between 1594 and 1599. After the tenure of the last Sauer, Franz, the castle was in 1611 bought by his brother-in-law Johann Frederik the noble Räuber, who in 1619 handed it over to his brother Johann Louis. Around 1689, the castle was bought by prince Franz Ferdinand Auersperg, who merged its estate with Šumberk. The castle was partially abandoned at the end of the 17th century, with the uninhabited sections allowed to decay; it is likely that the rest of it was not completely abandoned until the early 19th century. After World War II, Ivan Komelj described it only as a "completely overgrown pile of rocks."
Today, only a few outer walls and a central building survive reasonably intact, though the basic floorplan, including the remains of rooms and the foundations of towers, remains clearly visible.
Architecture
The first known depiction of the castle is an etching in Valvasor's 1689 The Glory of the Duchy of CarniolaThe Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola is Johann Weikhard von Valvasor's most important work on history and natural history of his homeland Carniola, a central part of the present-day Slovenia and Istria in Croatia....
, which portrays it as a two-story building of rectangular layout and with a sizeable extension on the south side. The east side featurea a prominent platform on raised piles. The castle was surrounded by external walls, fortified with three towers.
In literature
Kozjak Castle is a major setting of the book "Jurij Kozjak" by seminal Slovene writer Josip JurčičJosip Jurcic
Josip Jurčič was a Slovene writer and journalist. He was born in Muljava, Austrian Empire and died in Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary...
, which includes descriptions of medieval castle life and its surroundings during the era of Ottoman incursions.