The castle in Hrastovec is one of the most impressive castles in Slovenia, not only because of its imposing position, but also because of its excellent formation. It is a huge complex with an inner yard and composed of older parts with three Renaissance two-storeyed wings and three towers to the south, and, to the north, of several wings of later construction with unevenly levelled roofs.
The building gradually gained in size. Its ground plan shows that its first foundations were irregularly planned already in the Middle Ages. The castle was first mentioned in 1265 when it consisted of two towers connected by a high wall. In 1338, a chapel of St Oswald was erected next to a smaller building. The Counts of Herberstein owned the castle from 1481 until the World War II, with the exception of a hundred years, between 1802 and 1902. The castle is composed of an older Renaissance central building to the south, and of a later Baroque part to the north. The older southern part, built around 1600, is fortified by three round towers, one on each corner, while the northern part is a result of various reconstruction and construction works in the Baroque period between 1655 and 1666 following the plans of the architect Domenico Della Tore.
The entrance portals of the representative northern part of the castle together with the Chapel of the Holy Cross bear the inscription 1668. A lavishly formed ceremony staircase and a luxurious Baroque Hall are both situated in this part of the castle. The Main Hall boasts wall paintings with mythological and classical scenes, and high quality Baroque stucco work from the first half of the 18th century, which are also to be found on ceilings in the corridor, the chapel and the staircase.
The legend of the Hrastovec castle
In the 16th century, a young count from Hrastovec, Friedrich Herberstein, fell in love with beautiful Agatha from the Štralek manor. Friedrich's mother opposed to their marriage, therefore the young couple got secretly married in the chapel of Stipler (today, the annex church of St Mary in Radoha). So, Friedrich's mother accused Agatha of witchcraft. While Friedrich was at war, his mother tortured Agatha and made her throw a new-born baby into the burning stove. Then, she reported the fact to the judge who condemned Agatha to death. Her step-mother demanded that Agatha be beheaded. When Friedrich returned from the war, he could not find his beloved wife. In his grief, he planted a black cross, a symbol of unhappy love, in the ground where the tragedy happened.
The story is described in the book 'The Black Cross', by Ožbalt Ilaunig.
The castle is not open for public.
