Vurberk Castle

Vurberk Castle stands on a strategically important hill above the Drava River. Today, the castle is in ruins, with only the Renaissance fortification ring and walls with towers remaining, along with the entrance featuring a Renaissance portal, on which the Vurberk coat of arms with a worm or dragon is still visible. In its original form, the castle consisted of a three-story residential building on the north side and a walled courtyard. Between the second half of the 12th century and the second half of the 13th century, at least a four-story tower was added to the western part of the wall.

A number of stories and historical events are linked to Vurberk. According to folk tradition, its origin is connected to a battle between Kresnik and a mythical worm or giant serpent. German historians mention a knight who killed a great dragon and built the castle. These legends gave rise to the coat of arms of the Lords of Vurberk and to the name of the castle and the settlement (Wurmberg). The castle was first mentioned in 1238.

The castle was owned by the Counts of Hollenburg or the Lords of Vurberk. Toward the end of the 17th century, the Herberstein family converted it into a hunting lodge. After World War I, the Russian Red Cross established a sanatorium for lung diseases in the castle, which operated until World War II. During the war, the Germans converted the castle into a Nazi political school, but in February 1945 it was heavily damaged in an Allied bombing.