Stara grofija, Renaissance mansion in Celje, Slovenia

Stara grofija is a late-Renaissance palace in Celje built in the style of the Graz school, with an L-shaped plan whose wings face south and east. It has a basement, a main floor and a half-storey attic, and arcaded corridors added in the early 17th century. The south facade is plain, marked only by a balcony.

The mansion was built in the last quarter of the 16th century, though its origins trace back to 1414 as a scribal house for the Counts of Celje administration. The building reflects changes in the region over several hundred years.

The building houses the Regional Museum of Celje, which shows collections about how the region developed and changed over time. Visitors can see objects and displays that tell the story of local life and traditions.

The mansion sits on Muzejski Square in Celje's historic center and is easy to reach on foot. From here, visitors can walk to other sights in the old town.

The Celje ceiling, discovered in 1926 above a younger plain ceiling, measures 14.45 by 9.87 metres and is painted in tempera on canvas, not fresco. Its eleven fields, divided by painted wooden beams, show an illusionistic tower architecture, the four seasons, the battle of the Latins and Trojans, and four giants attacking heaven. The painter is unidentified; experts link the figures to prints by Jan and Rafael Sadeler, Antonio Tempesta and Hendrik Goltzius.