Bogenšperk, the castle where Valvasor wrote The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola

What to see inside Bogenšperk Castle

The permanent exhibition on Valvasor’s life and work is the heart of the visit. His study, with its black columns, holds an original copy of The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, and next to it stands a reconstruction of the first copperplate engraving workshop on Slovene soil. Four of his original books from the last quarter of the 17th century are on show.

The second floor has furniture from the last owners. The former library is furnished in the Windisch-Graetz style, with the original cupboard, a coffered ceiling added in the later 1700s and an organ, and is now used for weddings. There is also an exhibition on superstition and witchcraft in Slovenia and a centre devoted to Davorin Hostnik, author of the first Russian-Slovene dictionary.

Why Bogenšperk is Valvasor’s castle

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor (1641-1693) bought the castle in 1672. He refurbished it, installed one of the largest libraries of his age and gathered collections of curiosities that the castle website treats as the start of museums on Slovene soil. Here he wrote The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, published in 1689, and here in 1682 he printed his last book, a theatre of human death in three parts.

Publishing his great work ruined him. In 1692 he sold the library and the castle and moved his family to Krško. Several owners followed, the last being the Windisch-Graetz family, who had to leave in 1943. After the war it served as a military hospital and then housed Jesuits, and systematic restoration began in 1972.

From the Wagens to Valvasor

Bogenšperk stands at 412 m on the Strmec ridge above the hamlet of Dvor, in the municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji. The Slovene Wikipedia says the Wagen family began building it in its present form after the earthquake of 1511 damaged nearby Lihtenberk Castle, and that it is first recorded in 1533. The oldest part is the north-east tower, which once stood alone and doubled as living quarters. The courtyard has a well cut into the living rock.

Valvasor described it himself as an old hill castle surrounded by woods, with distant views of snowy peaks towards Carinthia and Styria, clean air and cherries growing four or five to a stalk.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.

Opening times, tickets and what’s on

Tickets are €7, with cheaper rates for pensioners and students and a €19.90 family ticket. Opening hours change by the month, and the castle closes on 1 and 2 January, 1 November and 25 and 26 December. There is a public guided tour at no extra cost on Saturdays at 11am, but Saturday weddings can also get in the way.

The castle runs events all year. The autumn 2026 programme had a guided tour on Saturday 24 October at 11am and a family Halloween evening on Saturday the 31st, and announced a St Martin’s feast for Friday 13 November from 6pm. In summer there is the Bogenšperk Festival, whose twelfth edition ended on 20 September 2026.

How to get to Bogenšperk

A hire car is the sensible option, as the castle sits on a hilltop with no public transport to the gate. From Litija in the Sava valley it is a short drive through Šmartno. The castle has its own tavern, so you can eat on site. If you enjoy this kind of visit, see my guide to Slovenia’s castles and the one on central Slovenia.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bogenšperk Castle and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.