THE KUNŠPERK CASTLE Location: Bistrica ob Sotli Category: Castles, fortresses and curias

The Kunšperk castle is one of the few castles, for which the sources confirm was built in 1167-1174 at the site of an older castle, pulled down by Henrik, the bishop of Krško. It is known that the French king Henry the 1st (916-936) built series of castles for protecting the borders especially on the east. With its position right above river Sotla, he dominated the Croatian Zagorje as the opposite pair to Croatian Cesargrad. Both names refer to the national origin of both castles.
The configuration of the chosen space vitally influenced its visual image in the landscape while at the same time being a caste-design, the core of which is formed by a mighty bergfrid.*

The castle was for a long time under management of Kunšperski gospodje (‘The Lords of Kunšperk’), first of which to run this castle was Oton- Otto de Chunigesperch, brother of Friderik of Ptuj and a Salzburg minstrel, who was probably trusted with protecting the Hungarian border by the river Sotla. In 1224, Oton Kunšperski participated in a tournament in Breže na Kroškem, about which Ulrich von Lichtenstein wrote in his famous poem Vrowen dienest - Aventiure von dem turnay ze Frisach.

The knights of Kunšperk also owned the dominions and castles Stopnik and Velenje. After 1300 their power faded and the property began to deteriorate. In 1395 the castle was taken over by Celjski grofje (“the Counts of Celje”) and remained in their possession until 1456. The castle later became princely property due to the hereditary contract between Counts of Celje and the Habsburgs, and then quickly shifted owners for a period of time. At the time of the all-slovenian peasant uprising, the castle was temporarily captured by the rebel peasants. In 1586 it was bought by Žiga pl. Tattenback. The Tattenback family also had Bizeljsko in their possession from the mid- 16th century on, from where they controlled the dominion of Kunšperk. From 1858 and until World War II., the ownership of the castle was taken over by the Windischgaetz family, who abandoned the castle. In 1933, the northern living tract broke off and crashed into the gulf. What remains today are parts of the fortress, like the bergfrid, a part of the wall with the entrance tower and a side tower, and a circumference of a chapel.

Bergfrid originates from the roman era, made of quarry stone accurately positioned to form straight lines, reinforced in the corners with sculptured blocks. The thickness of its wall reaches from 2,5 m to 2,9 m and is still preserved to the height of four floors. The entrance was at the best protected and most easily defendable north, courtyard-side. The tower has some light portholes. Also from the roman era is the peripheral wall separated from the rest of the hillside by a defence-trench. In some spots it reaches a height of 6 m. From the castle chapel a console has been preserved, which is stored in the Pokrajinski muzej in Celje.

Accessing the Kunšperk castle is very difficult and (as seen from the text and the photos) in a crumbling, deteriorating condition. Visit at your own risk; equip yourself properly.

*Bergfrid: a defence tower

 

Coordinates: 46.056900, 15.693900