Kravjek Castle is a ruined 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 northwest of Muljava

Muljava

Muljava is a village in the Ivančna Gorica municipality in central Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now included in the Central Slovenian statistical region....

, 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

Kravjek had once been one of the more important castles of the Duchy of Carinthia

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....

. Its first owners were the dukes Spanheim

House of Sponheim

The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a noble family of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages. They were Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269 and Counts of Sponheim until 1437...

, who managed the castle via their ministeriales. This practice provides for the castle's first indirect mention via a 1243 record of a legal proceeding, in which a "Friderik castellanus de Weinek" was called as a witness. The castle is next implied in 1254, when its castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 Rajnboto of Jetrbenšek, ministerialis of duke Ulrik III, donated two farms and two vineyards to Stična Abbey.

The first direct record of the castle dates from 1256, in an agreement signed by the brothers Ulrik and Phillip of Salzburg

Duchy of Salzburg

The Duchy of Salzburg was a Cisleithanian Kronland of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary from 1849–1918. Its capital was Salzburg, while other towns in the duchy included Zell am See and Gastein....

, dividing their inheritance. Ulrik received Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Castle is a medieval castle in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is located on the Castle Hill overlooking the old town.- History:According to archeological surveys, the area of the present castle has been settled continuously since 1200 BC, when the first settlements and later fortifications were...

 and Kostanjevica Castle, while Phillip took possession of the Carinthian castles Himmelberg

Himmelberg

Himmelberg is a town in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:-References:...

 and Wernberg

Wernberg

Wernberg is a town in the district of Villach-Land in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:...

, as well as the castles of Sostro

Sostro

The Sostro District or simply Sostro is a city district of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is the largest district of the capital and is located in the eastern part of Ljubljana...

 and Kravjek.

Phillip sold Kravjek in 1279 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 :...

. It remained a personal fief of the Dukes of Carinthia until 1335, when it passed among the holdings of the duchy itself.

Sources

• Ivan Stopar, Grajske stavbe v osrednji Sloveniji, II. Dolenjska, book III, Porečje Temenice in Mirne, Viharnik, Ljubljana 2002 ISBN 961-6057-34-0