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Metlika Castle is located above the old part of the town of Metlika, very near the Croatian border. The castle was first mentioned in written sources in 1456. During the Ottoman incursions in the 15th and 16th century, it was owned by the Counts of Alap, and it played a key role in defense against the Turks. Later, the castle was owned by the house of Frankopan, and later yet by the chapterhouse of the bishopric of Zagreb.
During the 18th century, the castle was damaged by fire twice (in 1705 and 1790); after repairs it was bought by Jožef Savinšek in 1792. It survived World War II intact and was afterward nationalized without compensation and converted into the headquarters of the Museum of White Carniola, established in 1951, and became home to some of its permanent collections. Exhibits include a cultural history of White Carniola, collections of Roman and medieval stone markers and memorials, and an ethnological collection on the historical way of life in White Carniola. The former castle stables and other outbuildings house the Metlika Slovene Firefighting Museum. In addition, the second floor contains a wedding hall, and the basement a wine cellar. Metlika Castle also features the Gangl Gallery for temporary exhibitions, which is part of Museum of White Carniola.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.