Podčetrtek Castle in the east of the country has reopened to visitors following an extensive renovation that restored this historic gem to its former glory after being left to decay for decades.

Sitting on a rocky hill amid a forest, the castle was originally built in the 12th century. Following the last major renovation in 1874, it passed several hands and has been left to fall into ruin in private ownership in the last decades.

In 2020 the Podčetrtek municipality purchased the building for €150,000 with the hope to preserve the castle and give it a new lease on life.

The restoration work started three years ago and included a €460,000 project to renovate the trail to the castle, for which the local authorities received €280,000 from the fund for the sustainable development of Slovenian tourism.

They also renovated the facade and joinery and set up a lookout terrace in a separate €2.5 million project, for which they received €1.6 million from the Culture Ministry.

Part of the funding for the projects came from EU funds.

The castle is now thoroughly renovated and has expanded what it can offer to visitors, including interactive and AR experiences. The Podčetrtek Municipality says castle feasts and weddings are two further potential products.

The renovated castle is not just a sign of preserving history but serves as a vital element of local economy that is already attracting visitors from Slovenia and abroad and contributes to the development of the community.

The earliest written records of the settlement of Podčetrtek date back to 1016, while the oldest written reference to the castle dates from 1261 as Castrum Lansperch with the knight Engelscalcus de Landesperch mentioned in 1209.

The Romanesque castle was held by Hungarian army in 1479-1490 and in 1515 it succumbed to a peasant revolt. Only the ruins of a tower were left but in about 1520, the present castle building was built on the site of the old one: a square-shaped two-storey building with two one-floor round towers rising one floor higher.

The Counts of Attems thoroughly renovated and remodelled the towers in the 19th century. After the Second World War, the castle was looted and left to decay.