Podsreda Castle, Romanesque castle in Municipality of Kozje, Slovenia.
Podsreda Castle is a Romanesque castle above the Podsreda square on the northern slope of Orlica, in the Municipality of Kozje. It began in the first half of the 12th century as a simple rectangular building. Around 1180 a tall defensive tower was added, around 1220 a southern residential wing, and around 1260 a chapel. Its present appearance was largely shaped in the 19th century by Count Schönburg-Glauchau, son-in-law of Prince Weriand zu Windischgrätz.
The castle was first mentioned in 1213 as Castrum Herberch, when Ortolf of Planina recorded it for his wife Kiburga of Ptuj. In 1338 Herman of Kranichberg sold it to Frederick of Žovnek, and the bishops regularly confirmed it to the Counts of Celje. After the Celje line died out in 1456, the castle and estate passed to the Habsburgs. In 1515 rebellious peasants attacked and captured it.
The castle's ground floor holds a glass museum and an exhibition on the fortress's history, while the tower carries the main display. The bread kitchen, rebuilt in the late Baroque period and sometimes called the "medieval" kitchen, survives in the south-east corner. Original ceiling beams and chandeliers remain in the exhibition rooms.
The castle is open to visitors only in the summer season, from April to October, and closed on Mondays. The entrance is through the prominent gate tower, which also served as the keep. The permanent exhibition is housed in that tower, while the ground-floor rooms hold the glass museum and the display on the castle's history.
The original Podsreda castle stood on a hill east of today's square, and a prison tower called Turnič with a permanent military garrison stood 450 m west of the present building. The castle has offered overnight accommodation since 2020.
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