Tuštanj Castle was built in 1490 and fully renovated in the second half of the 17th century. It was originally owned by the Lichtenberg family. In 1800 it was purchased by Ignac Scarija. The last owner from the Scarija family was Maksimiljana Scarija, who married the castle's groundsman, Luka Pirnat, in 1854. They had no children, so after Scarija's death the castle and the estate were inherited by her husband, who remarried in 1874. The castle has remained in the possession of the Pirnat family until the present day. It is the only castle in Slovenia to have never been nationalized.
Tuštanj Castle has an inner courtyard with a fountain, surrounded by an arched portico. Next to the castle, a chapel of St. John of Nepomuk was built in the 17th century and painted in fresco by Franc Jelovšek. Next to the castle entrance grow a 400-year-old linden and a 300-year-old plane tree.
The part of the castle converted into a museum houses original furniture, porcelain, fief ownership records, ceramic stoves and other original furnishings. Various cultural events are held in the inner courtyard in the summer. The castle has a wedding hall, where couples can choose to be married in medieval costumes.
References:The Petersberg Citadel is one of the largest extant early-modern citadels in Europe and covers the whole north-western part of the Erfurt city centre. It was built after 1665 on Petersberg hill and was in military use until 1963. It dates from a time when Erfurt was ruled by the Electors of Mainz and is a unique example of the European style of fortress construction. Beneath the citadel is an underground maze of passageways that can be visited on guided tours organised by Erfurt Tourist Office.
The citadel was originally built on the site of a medieval Benedictine Monastery and the earliest parts of the complex date from the 12th century. Erfurt has also been ruled by Sweden, Prussia, Napoleon, the German Empire, the Nazis, and post-World War II Soviet occupying forces, and it was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). All of these regimes used Petersberg Citadel and had an influence on its development. The baroque fortress was in military use until 1963. Since German reunification in 1990, the citadel has undergone significant restoration and it is now open to the public as a historic site.