Raka Castle

First recorded in 1161 and cited in 1279 as Castrum Arch, Raka is among Slovenia’s oldest strongholds. Built by the Counts of Bogna and later held by the Counts of Andechs and the Dukes of Spanheim, it witnessed the cruelty of Countess Barbara Bela, who chained rebellious serfs to a pillory still standing on the path below. Burned during the great Slovene peasant revolt of 1515, the castle was reborn in Renaissance style in 1525. The Verniš family sold it in the 17th century to the Kajzelj clan, who added hothouses and a crayfish pond beneath the walls. Baron Haller von Hallerstein rescued and beautified the ageing shell between 1784 and 1825. A military outpost in World War II and a convent for Sisters of Charity from 1948 to 1998, Raka Castle now opens its gates to stories of revolt, rebirth and quiet devotion.