Castle Cilli
Old Castle Celje and his Beauty
The old Castle Celje is one of the oldest castles in Slovenia, and it lies above the town of Celje (germ. Cilli ). It is a great view point, were you can see the old city center, and up in the distance you can see the Kamniško-Savinske Alps.
History:
The original castle was build in the first half of the 12th century by Carinthia counts Vovbržani, and ... more about history is written in the lens.
Present:
Each year they organize the medieval days, were you can see combats with swords, and pikes and as well you can try to shoot a bow,...
Cilii Coat of Arms
All through history every great noble family had there coat of arms, it was a sign drown in principles of heraldry. There wore strict rules that had to be taken very serious. One of most imported was that the sign has never been used before and it is unique. A lot of coats were rich decorated with helms, coats, fathers, across positioned swords...
The Count of Cilli coat of arms is a shield divided in four halfs, and they are diagonal similar. The "coat is a merge of two families and there coat of arms. As it is known that the "Count of Cilli" were before Lords of Sannegg . They were given the title Counts of Cilli after the marriage to the Lords of Heunburg .
And from this marriage is the coat of arms build, the first and forth part of the shiled is from the Lords of Sannegg, the red-white stripes, the second and the third part of the shield is from the Lords of Heunburg, three yellow stars on a dark blue background.
Lord of Sannegg coat of Arms:
Lord of Huunburg coat of Arms:
"Some people say that this three stars symbolize the first three counts of Cilli."
Cilli coat of Arms Today
City of Celje (germ.: Cilli) is the third bigest city in Slovenia with 65,520 (y. 2011) people living there. The first known settlements on the area of Celje was in the Celtic times.
The coat of arms is found on the foundation of the "Counts of Celje coat of arms" and it is the shield shape with three golden stars on a blue background that is lighter that on the Counts of Celje coat of arms.
Coat of arms of Celje today:
Today the coat of arms of Celje is the same as of the lords of Sannegg, only the color of the background is not as dark as it was by the Lords of Sannegg, as well as the Slovenian coat of arms has three stars on a blue background.
History
Eary start
The original castle was build in the first half of the 12th century by Carinthia Lords of Heunburg , and were the masters of the Castle till the year 1322, after them, ther were battles after battles, and in the end in year 1333 the castle fell in the hands of Lords of Heunburg heirs the freelancers Sannegg, and they latter become the famous "Counts of Celje" .
Till 1456 the empire as I could say grew under the hands of Ulrik II and Frederik II but after the assassination of Ulrik the entire possession of Counts of Cilli went to the hands of Habsburgs because of the inheritance contract that was written between Habsburgs and Counts of Cilli .
Counts of Celje
Rise to Power
Counts of Celje Family Tree
Before Lords of Sennegg became Counts of Cilli they allied with the b> in War against the counts of Gorizia-Tyrol, fighting for the Czech crown , with this act the power of Counts of Cilli starts. After the war they gained in possession the land in Gorizia-Tyrol near river Savinja and become Habsburg vassals .
Frederik I. of Cilli:
After the dead of Counts of Heunburg they gain in their possession the castle of Cilli .
Lords of Sennegg, throught history the power that they gained was well strategic planed by mirage to powerful lords. As they did that, they gained a lot of castles to their possession.
16. April 1341 Emperor Ludwig von Bayern named the Lords of Senneg to Dukes of Cilli , the first Lord of Sennegg that gain the title Dukes of Cilli was Ulrik I .
The privileges of the title Counts of Cilli were given to them by Emperor Charles IV of Luxemburg on 30 September 1372 to Herman II son Frederik II and nephew Ulrik II .
Frederik II. of Cilli:
Ulrik II. of Cilli:
In 14 century Herman II assisted in the war of Nikopolis and saved King Sigismund of Luxemburg , from death and because of that the King gave Herman II some cites in Croatia, as well Sigismund married to Herman's daughter Barbara , and so a powerful bloodline was built between the King of Luxemburg and Counts of Cilli.
The bloodline of Counts of Cilli ended with the assassination of Ulrik II in Belgrade, where he was taking care of some business of his half cousin Ladislaus the Posthumous in the year 1456. The last of the male Counts of Cilli died and with him the powerful family bloodline.
Old Castle Celje
Castle Structure
Castles to history were build section by section, for example first they build the core of the castle or the keep , they used it to store food, weapons, and provide shelter for noble people, if the castle was attacked frequently they extended the castle by building walls around it.
And the last big thing of providing a shelter for noble people was towers , they were used for scouting enemy troops from a distance, and also gave a ruff for solders. Many castles had a chapel in the surrounding walls or even in the keep.
In Castle Cilli there remain a variety of architectural concepts from different period of history, so here you can see some from the Gothic time, a few Gothic arcs are still visible, but the most exciting thing were the trebuchet ammo.
It was found during the archaeological excavations and a lot of pottery was also found, from clay cup to dishes... and also some swords and shields wore found.
Castle of Cilli:
At first the castle was just a little palace building or the keep and it was build beyond the inner mote.Its defense was a fortified corridor and a strong wall.
In the upcoming centuries they have built a mighty defense tower, which was later called the Frederic's Tower and after that the build has spread and they build the double Curtain wall on the east side enhanced with Towers ,...
The Counts of Cilli had the castle as a fort during the Ottomans invasions, were they staid with all the peasants and workers that lived near the Castle.
In time of the peasant rebellions the rebels gather in the castle.
After the 16 century when the riots stopped, the Castle of Cilli was then abandoned by the nobles and he lost its value.
The 18 century was indescribable they took down the roof and used the wood and roof covering in the built of the new manor Novo Celje (New Cilli and this announced the downfall of the castle and it did, the castle became a stone quarry.
But in the late 19 century the monument service started to restore him back to original state.
The Map of Celje
GPS - location:Her are the coordinates for you GPS navigation sistem, so you can visit the castle when you come to Slovenia. 46° 13' 8.94", 15° 16'
