Kostel Castle

Kostel, Kostel, Slovenia, Slovenia

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Kostel Castle is Slovenia's second-largest castle complex, perched on a steep hill above the Kolpa River in the settlement of Kostel, southeastern Slovenia, forming a fortified market town with defensive walls and towers. Expanded between 1247 and 1325 from a smaller fort by the Counts of Ortenburg under the Patriarchate of Aquileia, it became a Counts of Celje stronghold after 1418, featuring 2-meter-thick walls, five towers, and a judiciary with a nearby execution site to protect Carniola lands against Ottoman invasions. Burned during an 1809 anti-French uprising sparked by locals storming French troops inside, it was partially rebuilt before WWII destruction, now restored since the 1990s as a museum with medieval exhibits, panoramic views, and event space near the Gothic Church of the Holy Three Kings.