Country

Castles in Slovenia

50 landmarks in the Castle Map atlas — every one mapped with a photo and its story, 44 with sourced founding dates, ranked by Wikipedia coverage and real readership.

The most famous castle in Slovenia is Predjama Castle, ranked #175 of 9,079 in the world — followed by Ljubljana Castle and Bled Castle.

The Castle Map atlas charts 35 castles, 2 fortresses, 9 palaces & châteaux and 4 ruins in Slovenia. They span more than 9 centuries — from Socerb Castle (founded c. 850) to Gruber Palace (1773). Every one is plotted with its photo and story on the interactive castle map of Slovenia.

How many castles are there in Slovenia?

Map of castles in Slovenia

On the map they cluster thickest around Ljubljana — 40 within a 100 km day trip, then Maribor (30). The northernmost is Grad Castle, the southernmost Kostel Castle — about 170 km apart.

Planning a visit? Day-trip guides: Castles near Ljubljana · Castles near Maribor.

See them on the map →

When they were built

Of the 50 landmarks mapped in Slovenia, 44 carry a sourced founding date. Most were founded in the 13th century — 14 of them. 37 predate 1500 and 3 were built after 1700.

All 50 castles in Slovenia

Predjama Castle
Castle · 13th century · #175 worldwide · #1 in Slovenia
Predjama Castle is a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historical region of Inner Carniola.
Ljubljana Castle
Castle · 9th century · #349 worldwide · #2 in Slovenia
Ljubljana Castle is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town.
Bled Castle
Castle · 11th century · #371 worldwide · #3 in Slovenia
Bled Castle is a medieval castle built on a precipice above the city of Bled in Slovenia, overlooking Lake Bled.
Celje Castle
Ruin · 14th century · #4 in Slovenia
Celje Castle, also known as Celje Upper Castle or Old Castle, is a castle ruin in Celje, Slovenia, formerly the seat of the Counts of Celje.
Branik Castle
Castle · 13th century · #5 in Slovenia
Branik Castle, also known as Rihemberk Castle, is a 13th-century castle above the village of Branik, near the city of Nova Gorica in southwestern…
Praetorian Palace (Koper)
Palace & château · 15th century · #6 in Slovenia
The Praetorian Palace is a 15th-century Venetian Gothic palace in the city of Koper, in southwest Slovenia.
Otočec Castle
Castle · 13th century · #7 in Slovenia
Otočec Castle is a castle hotel on a small island in the middle of the Krka River in Otočec, Slovenia. It is the only water castle in Slovenia.
Snežnik Castle
Castle · 13th century · #8 in Slovenia
Snežnik Castle is a 13th-century castle in the municipality of Loška Dolina, Slovenia.
Maribor Castle
Palace & château · 15th century · #9 in Slovenia
Maribor Castle is a Baroque mansion in the town of Maribor, northeastern Slovenia. It contains a regional museum.
Ptuj Castle
Castle · 12th century · #10 in Slovenia
Ptuj Castle is a castle in Ptuj, Slovenia. It stands on a hill alongside the Drava River overlooking the town, and it is a prominent landmark.
Žovnek Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #11 in Slovenia
Žovnek Castle is a castle northeast of Braslovče, Slovenia. It lies above Lake Žovnek.
Brdo Castle near Kranj
Palace & château · 15th century · #12 in Slovenia
Brdo Castle near Kranj, usually simply Brdo Castle, is an estate and a mansion in the Slovenian region of Upper Carniola west of the village of…
Mokrice Castle
Castle · 15th century · #13 in Slovenia
Mokrice Castle is a medieval castle southeast of Brežice, Slovenia, located on a hill in the northern part of the settlement of Rajec in the Gorjanci…
Tivoli Castle
Palace & château · 17th century · #14 in Slovenia
Tivoli Castle, originally called Podturn Manor, is a mansion in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
Brežice Castle
Castle · 13th century · #15 in Slovenia
Brežice Castle is a 16th-century castle in the town of Brežice, in southeastern Slovenia, at the street address Cesta prvih borcev 1.
Bogenšperk Castle
Castle · 16th century · #16 in Slovenia
Bogenšperk Castle is a 16th-century castle located in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia.
Kluže
Fortress · 15th century · #17 in Slovenia
The Kluže Fortress is a fort near the town of Bovec in northwestern Slovenia.
Water Tower (Maribor)
Fortress · 16th century · #18 in Slovenia
The Maribor Water Tower is a medieval fortified tower in the city of Maribor, Slovenia.
Strmol Castle
Castle · #19 in Slovenia
Strmol Castle is a castle located at the foot of Dvorjanski hrib near the villages of Češnjevek, Grad and Dvorje, in the Municipality of Cerklje na…
Velenje Castle
Castle · 13th century · #20 in Slovenia
Velenje Castle is a well-preserved castle in Velenje, Slovenia that was owned by the Kunšperk family, followed by their Ptuj relatives and the…
Raka Castle
Castle · 12th century · #21 in Slovenia
Raka Castle is one of the oldest medieval castles in Slovenia. Raka is located in the City Municipality of Krško.
Murska Sobota Castle
Castle · #22 in Slovenia
The town of Murska Sobota is a small town in the extreme northeast of Slovenia, in the Ravensko plain of the historic region of Prekmurje.
Kieselstein Castle
Castle · 13th century · #23 in Slovenia
Kieselstein Castle, also known as Khislstein, is a 13th-century castle in the city of Kranj, in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.
Sevnica Castle
Castle · 12th century · #24 in Slovenia
Sevnica Castle is a Slovenian castle in the Lower Sava Valley. Situated atop a hill, it dominates the old town of Sevnica and offers views of the…
Turjak Castle
Castle · 11th century · #25 in Slovenia
Turjak Castle is a 13th-century castle located above the settlement of Turjak, part of the municipality of Velike Lašče in the Lower Carniola region…
Lendava Castle
Castle · 13th century · #26 in Slovenia
The town of Lendava, Hungarian Lendva is the administrative seat and main town of the Municipality of Lendava, the easternmost municipality in…
Kostel Castle
Castle · 13th century · #27 in Slovenia
Kostel Castle is a castle above the settlement of Kostel in southeastern Slovenia.
Socerb Castle
Castle · 9th century · #28 in Slovenia
The Socerb Castle, is a castle located near the village of Socerb in the Municipality of Koper in Slovenia, a short distance from the…
Kacenštajn Castle
Castle · 15th century · #29 in Slovenia
Kacenštajn Castle comprises, together with St. Ursula's Church, the old center of the village of Begunje in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.
Brutti Palace
Palace & château · 18th century · #30 in Slovenia
Brutti Mansion, also known as Brutti Palace, is an 18th-century mansion in Koper, a port town in southwestern Slovenia.
Borl Castle
Castle · 12th century · #31 in Slovenia
Borl Castle is a medieval castle above the banks of the Drava, northeast of the main settlement in Dolane, Slovenia.
Betnava Mansion
Palace & château · 14th century · #32 in Slovenia
Betnava Mansion is a manorhouse located near the city of Maribor in northern Slovenia.
Slovenska Bistrica Castle
Palace & château · 13th century · #33 in Slovenia
Slovenska Bistrica Castle, also known as Bistrica Castle, is a Renaissance-Baroque palace outside the town of Slovenska Bistrica in northeastern…
Gewerkenegg Castle
Castle · 16th century · #34 in Slovenia
Gewerkenegg Castle is a castle in downtown Idrija, Slovenia. Originally built to support the mercury mine, it now facilitates the town's museum.
Žužemberk Castle
Castle · #35 in Slovenia
Žužemberk Castle stands in Žužemberk in Dry Carniola, Slovenia. It is situated on a terrace above the Krka River and constitutes the centre of the…
Krumperk Castle
Castle · 13th century · #36 in Slovenia
Krumperk Castle is a castle located in Gorjuša near the town of Domžale in central Slovenia.
Kamen Castle
Ruin · #37 in Slovenia
The ruin of Stain Castle stands on a rocky ridge at the head of a valley near the village of Begunje in the municipality of Radovljica in the…
Podsreda Castle
Castle · 13th century · #38 in Slovenia
Podsreda Castle is a fortress in Slovenia with in the Kozje region. It was formerly known as Hörberg or Herberch.
Šrajbarski Turn Castle
Castle · 15th century · #39 in Slovenia
Leskovec Castle or Turn Castle is a 15th-century castle north of the village of Leskovec pri Krškem, southeastern Slovenia.
Cekin Mansion
Palace & château · 18th century · #40 in Slovenia
Cekin Mansion is a mansion on the northern edge of Tivoli Park in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
Bizeljsko Castle
Castle · 14th century · #41 in Slovenia
Bizeljsko Castle is a castle in Bizeljska Vas, a village in the Municipality of Brežice, in southeastern Slovenia.
Ig Castle
Castle · 14th century · #42 in Slovenia
Ig Castle, also Sonnegg Castle or Zonek Castle, stands on Pungart Hill above the settlement of Ig, on the southern outskirts of Ljubljana, the…
Metlika Castle
Castle · 15th century · #43 in Slovenia
Metlika Castle is a 15th-century castle located above the old part of the town of Metlika in southeastern Slovenia, very near the Croatian border.
Lihtenberk Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #44 in Slovenia
Lihtenberk Castle is a 13th-century castle ruin located in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia, directly adjacent to later…
Grad Castle
Castle · #45 in Slovenia
Grad Castle is the largest castle building in Slovenia, located in the country's north-eastern corner, in the Goričko region, near the Austrian and…
Pišece Castle
Castle · 14th century · #46 in Slovenia
Pišece Castle is a castle in Pišece, Slovenia. The castle appears for the first time in written sources in 1329, and was built to serve the…
Gornja Radgona Castle
Castle · 12th century · #47 in Slovenia
Gornja Radgona Castle is a castle in Gornja Radgona, Slovenia. The castle was built sometime between 1147 and 1182, and served as an important…
Gruber Palace
Palace & château · 18th century · #48 in Slovenia
Gruber Mansion is a mansion in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, standing at 1 Astronomy Street on the right bank of the Ljubljanica, east of…
Fužine Castle
Castle · #49 in Slovenia
Fužine Castle is a castle complex on the river Ljubljanica in the south-eastern part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
Cmurek Castle
Castle · 12th century · #50 in Slovenia
Cmurek Castle is a castle in Trate, Slovenia. It stands on a steep cliff above the bridge over the Mura River at Trate, the international border…

Frequently asked questions

How many castles are in Slovenia?

The Castle Map atlas maps 50 landmarks (35 castles · 2 fortresses · 9 palaces & châteaux · 4 ruins) in Slovenia — a curated selection of well-documented landmarks from Wikidata, not a count of every fortification ever built.

What is the most famous castle in Slovenia?

Predjama Castle, ranked #175 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's fame ranking, founded in the 13th century.

What is the oldest castle in Slovenia?

The oldest dated landmark in the atlas in Slovenia is Socerb Castle, founded c. 850. Earlier structures may have existed — this is the oldest with a documented founding year.

Where are most of the castles in Slovenia?

They cluster thickest around Ljubljana — 40 of the atlas's landmarks within 100 km, then Maribor (30).