Lihtenberk Castle, castle ruin in Šmartno pri Litiji, Slovenia

Lihtenberk Castle is a ruined walled castle with a three-story residential palacium, of which only remnants are visible today. It stands directly adjacent to Bogenšperk Castle in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji, central Slovenia.

Lihtenberk first appears in 1223, when the Aquileian ministerialis Albert von Lichtenberg held it; the Lichtenberg knights had taken it from the Andechs, who had taken it from the Weichselbergs. Around 1288 Count Meinhard of Tyrol occupied it and gave it in fief, but the Patriarchate of Aquileia restored the previous ownership. By the late 15th century it was dilapidated and the lordship moved to Bogenšperk; the 1511 Idrija earthquake ruined it, and in 1630 Georg Kheysell demolished the remains to repair Bogenšperk.

The name Lichtenberg passed to the Aquileian ministerialis Albert, recorded in 1223, and later to the Ljubljana merchant Georg Kheysell, ennobled as von Lichtenberg, who inherited the ruin in 1634. Valvasor, who bought the estate with Bogenšperk in September 1672, styled himself "von Lichtenberg" after the ruin.

Visiting these ruins requires sturdy footwear and caution on uneven ground and broken stones. Check with local authorities in Šmartno pri Litiji beforehand for current access conditions and information about guided tours.

The castle's name survives in Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, who bought the ruin with Bogenšperk in September 1672 and styled himself "von Lichtenberg". Earlier, in 1634, the Ljubljana merchant Georg Kheysell inherited Lihtenberk, bought Bogenšperk four years later, and demolished the ruin to repair it.