Snežnik Castle Museum

The Snežnik Castle, documented in 1269 when it was owned by the patriarchs of Aquileia,

The earliest record of Snežnik Castle dates from 1269 when it was owned by the patriarchs of Aquileia. The castle lies on a strategic site, on the edge of the Lož Valley under the Snežnik mountains surrounded by a beautiful park and vast forests with diverse and rich flora and fauna including big game ranging from bears, boars, wolves and lynxes, to wild fowl and deer, and was always favourite hunting residence. Throughout the centuries the castle has changed owners many times, but in 1853 the castle and associated forests of Snežnik were bought by German Prince Otto Viktor Schönburg-Waldenburg, who gave it to his third son Georg. Thereafter it remained in the Schönburg-Waldenburg family until 1945. The last caretaker Leon Schauta saved Snežnik Castle from destruction after the Second World War by keeping good relations with the locals before and after the war. Restoration began in the 1960s and the castle opened to the public in 1970/71. In 1983 two additional exhibition rooms were opened. After a restoration completed in 2008, the romantic state-owned castle came under the administration of the National Museum of Slovenia and is the only Slovene Castle with genuine furnished interiors.

Prince Georg Schönburg-Waldenburg had several additions made to the castle and gave it the appearance it has preserved to the present day. In 1860–1864 a third floor was added, a robust round tower at the back, a cellar and on top of it a terrace with battlements and a small round, conical tower. This new structure was connected to the walls which enclose the inner courtyard. At the same time the exterior was altered and the interior was also renovated and embellished with precious furniture and other furnishings to serve the purposes of the owner. Prince Georg also had an outbuilding added and arranged the surrounding park in the pattern of contemporaneous English parks.

Snežnik Castle is one of the few castles in Slovenia in which the entire inventory of its last owners, the Schönburg-Waldenburgs, has been preserved. Its interior furnishings date mainly from the mid to late 19th century and include furniture, tableware, old paintings, wall tapestries, books and objects for everyday use. Noteworthy artefacts on display within the building include four Roman tombstones built into the castle wall (1st century CE), a German Protestant Bible dating from 1735, and an original map of the Duchy of Carniola from 1744 made by Janez Dizma Florjančič. Amongst the exhibited furniture special attention should be paid to the Egyptian Room, furnished with Salon furniture from the Egyptomania style popular in the early-20th century.

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Gallery

Snežnik Castle, the venue for the Floating Castle Festival, 2015

Closing ceremony of the Floating Castle Festival, Snežnik Castle, 2015

Site-specific installation in the forest at the Floating Castle Festival in the vicinity of Snežnik Castle, 2015

Snežnik Castle, 2010

Snežnik Castle, being the only Slovene Castle with genuine furnished interiors, came under the administration of the National Museum of Slovenia after its restoration in 2008.

The Snežnik Castle, documented in 1269 when it was owned by the patriarchs of Aquileia,

Today the state-owned Snežnik Castle houses the in situ collection of the entire inventory of its last owners, the Schönburg-Waldenburgs, mostly from the 19th Century.

Snežnik Castle outbuildings, 2010

Snežnik Castle Museum

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Gallery

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