Podsreda Castle, Podsreda, Slovenia

Podsreda Castle dates to around 1150 and is probably the best-preserved example of secular Romanesque architecture in Slovenia. It features a typical 12th-century defensive tower (keep), a Romanesque chapel, and two wings from about the same period. The orderly, rectangular plan is also typical of the late Romanesque period.

Over the years the castle has seen many owners. Though neglected after the Second World War, the castle has since undergone extensive renovation work, starting in 1983. During the renovation numerous forgotten and neglected features where rediscovered, among them some Romanesque double windows, the chiselled frames of windows and doors and the remains of paintings. It is open during the summer months and a popular setting for weddings.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Jernej Vidmar (Nejc) (11 months ago)
Great experience! Lots of content (not just medival related). But be aware - hunt for treasure is so engaging your kids might not be interested in learning it all :-)

Ivan Tomašek (12 months ago)
beautiful castle with rich history and nice museum inside. Around you have hiking trails and nice picture spots. Ideal for a day trip.

diana marceta (14 months ago)
Very nice and restored castle. Beautiful interior, many exhibitions are shown. Visiting the castle is also very interesting for children, as it offers a treasure hunt. Audio guidance around the castle is enabled and in this way you can find out a lot of information. There is also a bar in the castle. Beautiful surroundings.

Dario Jazbec Hrvatin (15 months ago)
Beautiful castle with great content! We had a wonderful time exploring the exhibits and our daughter had a blast with the kid's treasure hunt (the gift you receive for solving the final puzzle is really awesome!). The whole staff was super kind and professional. All in all, we loved it!

Matija KOVAC (15 months ago)
Excellent - good value for money - rooms are clean, nicely furnished. The whole experience is very localized (from furnishing to breakfast), castle is definitely worth exploring. A very special experience, highly recommended!

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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