The story of Celje Castle

In the Middle Ages no weapon could take this castle. The only way was to starve its defenders, and even then a hidden passage led from the castle to a nearby granary. Stretched across three hills above the point where the Savinja river bends into the Laško valley, it was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory, covering almost 5500 square metres.

In 1333 it passed to the Lords of Sanneck, who from 1341 were the Counts of Celje, and around 1400 they added the four-storey tower later called Frederick's Tower. In 1755 Count Gaisruck removed its roof truss and reused the best stones for the Novo Celje mansion, the last residents left in 1795, and in 1803 a farmer, Andrej Gorišek, turned it into a quarry. Restoration efforts began in 1882 and continue today.

Around 60,000 people visit every year, and in late summer the event Under the Stars of the House of Celje revives medieval life here.