The Old Castle/Kamnik Castle

Route Description

Kamnik is one of the oldest and most beautiful medieval towns in Slovenia. It is located south of the Kamnik and Savinja Alps and is the center of the municipality of the same name. It is characterized by many cultural and natural attractions that attract many visitors throughout the year.

The Old Castle stands on the Krniška gora Hill (585 meters/1,919 feet above the sea level) above the town of Kamnik. It is mentioned as early as the 12th century under the name of the Upper Castle (Gornji grad), but when it was abandoned in the 16th century, it began to decay and is now in ruins. The Dukes of Bavaria, more precisely the Andech family, acquired an extensive part of Slovenian territory. At the beginning of the 12th century, they owned parts of the Upper Carniola from the Kozjak and Trojane passes all the way to the Kokra and Smlednik rivers. The family’s main estate was in Kamnik, which thus became one of the most important places in Carniola in the 13th century. In 1202, two castles are mentioned, the Lower Castle, now known as the Little Castle and the Upper Castle, now known as the ruins of the Old Castle.

The Old Castle happens to be one of the oldest castles in Upper Carnolia. It was built in the place of a prehistoric settlement high above the town of Kamnik and fortified with a defensive wall. This location allowed the owners to have control over the traffic routes leading from Styria through the Tuhinj Valley past Kamnik to the Upper Carniola region and to the Literal-Inner Carniola region. In the 13th century, the castle became the property of the Carinthian noble family of Ortenburgers and later of the Gallenbergs, one of the oldest Carniolan noble families. In 1450, the Old Castle became a provincial princely feud and was then rented out by the Dukes of Habsburg.

Find more info about Kamnik on this web page.