Lords of the Ribnica manor Anton Rudež Sr. and Anton Rudež Jr. as the last patrons of the parish of Sodražica

Abstract

Ribnica seigniory exercised the rights of patronage over the parish vicariate of Sodražica since its founding in 1753 and over the parish itself in the period of 1862–1936. Initially, the rights of patronage were exercised by its owners, the Counts of Kobenzl, and from 1810 onwards by the lords of the Ribnica’s manor, the Rudež family. The patronage rights became a point of dispute in 1936, when the patron, engineer Anton Rudež Jr., sold the Ribnica manor and part of the large estate to the military treasury, claiming that he was no longer the patron, because this would oblige him to co-fund the restoration works on parish buildings in Sodražica. However, the military treasury refused to shoulder the burden of patronage as well, having bought the manor and the estate free of debt. The controversy led to a lengthy legal dispute, which never reached a closing epilogue.