The Krupa Castle

A description of architectural history

Abstract

Burnt down during World War II and almost completely destroyed after it, the Krupa Castle located near the river of the same name used to exhibit some of the finest Renaissance castle architecture in Carniola. The castle was mostly built in the second half of the 16^th century in the location of a medieval court dating back to the 13^th or 14^th century. Its Renaissance design was commissioned by the Purgstall family, which owned the Krupa seigniory from the end of the 15^th century until 1704. In the second half of the 16^th century, the Purgstalls also commissioned the construction of a small church next to the castle that probably used to serve as a Protestant chapel and was demolished in 1952. Misinterpretation of Valvasor’s image led researchers of the castle’s history to erroneously assume that the Renaissance design underwent a major reconstruction in the 18^th century. The original design of the castle, which was begun in strict compliance with the Renaissance ideals of the 16^th century, remained incomplete until the second quarter of the 19^th century. Only then was it finally realised with the construction of the missing halves of two tracts and the arcade yard.