english – Grad Raka

Raka Castle

The Raka – Arch Castle is one of the oldest medieval castles in Slovenia. It was first documented as early as 1161, and explicitly mentioned as Castrum Arch in 1279. Built no later than the second half of the 12 th century by the Counts of Bogen, it was inherited by the Counts of Andechs and then passed into the possession of the Dukes of Spanheim.

Countess Barbara Bela, famous for her cruelty, ordered that disgruntled peasants be restrained to a pillory, which still stands along the path leading to the castle. In 1515, the castle burnt down during the pan-Slovenian peasant revolt and was restored in Renaissance style in 1525.

Through the 17 th century, the Raka Castle was owned by Werneck barons and eventually sold to the Kajzelj family, who arranged greenhouse plots and a pond with freshwater crab breeding facilities below the castle. Having fallen into disrepair, the old castle was again restored, this time by Baron Haller von Hallerstein, who owned it from 1784 to 1825 and gave it a completely new and refined look. His coat of arms is visible above the entrance.

The castle was used as a German military outpost during World War II. Afterwards, between 1948 and 1998, the castle was inhabited by the Daughters of Charity. They ran it as their own nursing home for old nuns. In 1998, the Daughters of Charity abandoned the Castle, which became the property of Krško Municipality. The current owner thoroughly restored the Castle and furnished 43 rooms with authentic furniture (2.000 pieces of furniture, paintings, arms and other inventory).

We offer organized visits for groups of 15 or more in Slovenian, Croatian, Russian and English language.

Contact:
Raka Castle
Raka 13
SI-8247 Raka

Tel: +386.31.303 697
E-mail: info@gradraka.si
Internet: www.gradraka.si
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gradraka
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raka_Castle