Short history The castle was first mentioned in 1246 as "Sosenberch". In 1295 Heinzlin of Lupoglave sold "castrum Sausenberc in marchia Sclauica" to the count Albert of Gorica. It was under the ownership of the counts of Gorica until 1374, when it was sold to the counts of Celje. Count Ulrik II of Celje died in 1456 without an heir and the family died out with him. By a hereditary contract of the counts of Habsburg, the castle of Žužemberk, among others, became the property of the Habsburg counts. Emperor Ferdinand of Habsburg sold the castle in 1538 to the brothers Jurij and Wolf of Auersperg. The family of Auersperg owned the castle until its destruction in the last days of World War II. (see the picture on the main page). The restoration of the castle began in 1957 and has been conducted on a small scale ever since. The double coat-of-arms dating from 1536 informs us of major renovation works that the castle had undergone at the time. That is also the time of the decline of castles in Europe. But in this particular region (known as Carniola at the time, today Suha krajina in Slovenia) some renowned castles were rebuild as renaissance fortresses in order to stop the invasion of the Turks from the south-east. That is also the case with the Žužemberk castle. An interesting anecdote from the time depicts an event in the castle. The anecdote was reported by J.V.Valvasor in his Die Ehre des Herzogtums Krain (The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola), saying that in 1575 the baroness Ana was attacked by a bear in the castle's yard. Apparently such events were not rare in those days. The castle and the adjoining market place, that had already formed by that time, both burned down in 1591 as a result of a great fire. The development of the building The castle was first built in the 12th century in a distinguishable Romanesque style. It was constructed in the form of a curtain wall. It was located at the important crossing of the river Krka. In the first phase only the simple palatium and the wall formed the castle. Later, probably in the 13th century the palatium was enlarged and a large gothic tower was built; the former collapsed just after World War II. Within the castle walls the building continued in the 14th and 15th century. On the eastern and northern side the castle was defended with the ditch. The interior of the castle underwent major changes. The 4 stories high walls connected seven round towers. The castle was also enlarged on the eastern side. There the vine cellar and the bastion above were built. The bastion served for the canon battery. After the 1591 fire the Turks were no longer considered a threat. Also more powerful fire arms were developed, so new methods of defending were required. The walls and the bastions were made higher. In the base floors of the bastions living quarters were constructed. Instead of the much smaller openings large windows were built. So when seen today only the mighty form of the castle reminds us of the renaissance form and only an expert eye can see the Romanesque forms within the castle.