Sevnica Castle

The Archdiocese of Salzburg held local estates since 1043[1] and Sevnica Castle was mentioned for the first time in its record in 1309 like “Castellum" Lichtenwald.

The office of the Archdiocese of Salzburg had been in the castle until 1479 when was appointed Archbishop Bernard the Second von Rohr, who came into conflict with the Emperor Frederick the Third.

[4] Matthias Hunyady, whose army thereafter occupied considerable part of the Slovenian ethnic territory, was very popular with simple folk.

In the parish church in Sevnica the tombstone is preserved from the family vault of the manor administrator Oswald Geriacher, which depicts him and his wife Dorothea kneeling in front of the crucifix.

Primož Trubar, the central figure among Slovenian Protestants, served at the beginning of his career also as a Catholic priest and not far from Sevnica.

Slovenian Protestants elevated Slovene in the 16th century among written languages and gave this nation the earliest literary works.

Their common aim was reform of the church and religious life, so the liturgy in Lutheran Cellar was most probably conducted in both languages.

However, when the conflict was finally resolved in 1637, the castle remained the property of Salzburg Archdiocese, while Moscons obtained the right of hereditary tenure.

The medieval tower remained practically untouched and was included in the east residential wing..[13] Innocenz was a stern Catholic, yet one could hardly avoid concluding that Lutheran Cellar was preserved thanks to him.

Annals recorded another atmospheric turmoil on June 26, 1801, when a raging hailstorm accompanied by gale-force winds devastated this area.

Sergeant Johann Michael Fischer, native of Malterdingen in Baden, committed a homicide here and was, after a trial in Sevnica Castle, on March 12 shot in the presence of the whole regiment.

[17] Roughly two years later, on June 1, 1803,[18] Count Johann Händl von Rebenburg became the proprietor of Sevnica Castle.

[19] Among the citizens of Sevnica have been preserved by oral transmission some local legends about the generosity of Count Händl and about his beautiful park laid out in Renaissance-Baroque style.

It was impossible to find out, when was this pergola removed, but in the 19th century, a wine cellar, with its roof propped by these supports, was built at the courtyard.

She made use of Lutheran Cellar again as the burial place, when she laid to rest in it her husband Arthur Tränkel and their daughter Kitty.

At about the same time, Baroque fresco paintings depicting gallant motifs of four seasons were discovered in the southeast tower of the castle.

Count Johann Händl von Rebenburg brought it here from Ajdovski Gradec,[23] and he laid out the castle park and gardens.