Krumperk Castle, Renaissance castle in Gorjuša near Domžale, Slovenia
Krumperk Castle is a Renaissance stronghold in Gorjuša near Domžale featuring a square footprint with corner towers typical of its era. The structure displays the architectural language of the 16th century with its balanced proportions and defensive design elements.
The noble Rabensberg family built the original structure in the 13th century, which the Rauber family completely reconstructed during the Renaissance period around 1580. The castle later served as a military sanatorium after World War II before being converted into residential apartments in the 1950s.
The castle meadow hosts the Krumperk Equestrian Club, run under the auspices of the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. The lordship's name survives in the surrounding settlements of Dob, Ihan, Krtina, Brezovica and Studenec, once part of the Krumperk estate. Tales of the castle's past were collected by Ivan Sivec in the book Jutro ob kresu (Morning Beside the Bonfire).
Krumperk Castle stands in Gorjuša, in the Municipality of Domžale, not in Ljubljana itself. The building is in a fairly poor state of repair and is the subject of a denationalization proceeding, so it is seen from the outside rather than toured. The castle meadow holds the Krumperk Equestrian Club, run under the University of Ljubljana's Veterinary Faculty. Nearby are the Spelunkers' Club (Jamarski dom) and two karst caves, Iron Cave (Železna jama) and Hag's Cave (Babja jama).
The last Baron Rauber's daughter was the mother of the historian Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, who recorded the castle's early names, Thurn unter Kreutberg or Thurn zu Kreutberg, and admitted confusion over which name belonged to Krumperk and which to the ruined Koprivnik Castle near Moravče. Tales of the castle's past were later collected by Ivan Sivec in the book Jutro ob kresu.
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