Kalec Castle (Slovenia)

Kalec Castle is located near Bač, not far from the source of the Pivka River. The castle, of which only the tower remains today, stands on the slope of the Breg (618 m asl).

The original castle, whose image is immortalized in the Glory of the Duchy of Carniola di Valvasor, was built in the 17th century by the noble Stemberg family. Wolf Ernest pl. Stemberg lost the castle in 1686 when it was assigned to Maria Anna, princess of Turja. Already the following year the owners of the castle and the lordship, the lords Pl. Leone until 1735. Then the owners of the lordship were Ferdinando pl. Raunach, succeeded by his son Jurij Andrej pl. Raunach, who sold it to Wolf Kajetan pl. Kuschlan. In the mid-18th century the castle and manor were bought by Francis Joseph Baroness Marenzi, who sold it in 1767 to his son Jakob Anton, who sold it at auction in 1782. In 1786, the estate was bought by Matej Vilhar, the ancestor of the Slovenian composer Miroslav Vilhar, who also died in the castle. In 1903, his wife Marija Vilhar sold the estate to 9 landowners in the village of Bač. The castle began to decline after the First World War and the inhabitants emigrated from it to the surrounding countries.

On the initiative of Miroslav Vilhar, a mass camp for United Slovenia was held here on May 9, 1869. A meeting of TIGR activists was held there in 1941.

Today the Krpan hiking trail passes. The tower and the ruins of the castle rise in an orchard of old lime trees, leading to it an avenue of chestnut trees.

[Source: Wikipedia]