Town of Ribnica

The town of Ribnica is one of the settlements with the oldest continuity of settlement in Slovenia. It first appears in documents from 1220 when its owners were the Counts of Turjak (Auersperg), and in the middle of the 13th century it became a feud of the Ortenburgs. Under the Ortenburgs it became an important economic and administrative center of the wider area and the seat of the provincial court. It is mentioned as a borough in 1350.
The establishment of the Ribnica archdeaconry, which existed until 1787, and a Latin school with seven grades, which later became quite famous, around 1400 can be linked to the region's growing importance to the Roman Catholic Church. A memorial plaque on the Štekliček House reminds us that the poet France Prešeren attended the Ribnica school between 1810 and 1812.
Between 1415 and the middle of the 16th century, the Turks passed through Ribnica looting and burning twenty-seven times, but they never occupied the castle. Partly as a result of the Turkish raids that were driving people from the region, in 1492 Emperor Frederick III granted all his subjects in the Kočevje area the right to trade the goods they grew or made throughout the Austrian Empire. This fostered the development of peddling and the production of "suha roba" (woodenware), and the town's location on a major transportation route further encouraged its economic development.
In 1619, Emperor Ferdinand II sold the Ribnica property to the Khisel family who in turn sold it to the counts of Trillegh. Protestantism played an important role in Ribnica, and the Reformer Primož Trubar, author of the first book published in Slovene, was a guest at the castle. Ribnica is also known for its witch trials, the last witch being burned in 1701.
The Cobenz family later owned the Ribnica property and kept it until 1810 when their castle steward, a member of the Rudež family from Kobjeglava in Primorska, bought it. The Rudež family held the estate until 1937 when its members divided the property among themselves and sold the castle to the military.
During World War II, the castle housed a military hospital and administrative offices. In 1944, the castle was burned down, and between 1948 and 1949 it was completely demolished. Between 1958 and 1961, the castle was partially reconstructed according to the plans of architect Ciril Tavčar and imaginatively arranged for cultural and tourist purposes.

Old town core

The old town core formed around the existing features of the main roadside settlement in the Ribnica Valley. The main transit street, the church, and the castle complex divided by the Bistrica stream created the conditions for the core of the settlement. The town's position on a major transportation route, its role as the economic and religious center of the valley, education, domestic crafts, and specific local features marked the cultural and historical development of the town.
A medieval core grew up immediately beside the castle between the Bistrica stream and today's main street, which is now called Škrabčev trg ("Škrabec Square"). The different style of construction on the two sides of this street was dictated primarily by the nature and possible use of the land.
The west side of the street, which the Bistrica stream often flooded, separated a square from the castle. Its buildings ended where the path led across the northern bridge to the castle on which a shrine to St. John the Baptist once stood. Thus, the west side is composed of three quadrangles of buildings, the last with its own small square in front of the Mikel House. Boasting a central fountain, this square later served as a fair site and a market.
The plan of the east side of the street, where the buildings form an unbroken row, is completely different. The only passage between the buildings is Struška ulica ("street"), which still leads to the slopes of the Sv. Ana hill. Each of the houses, most of which had cellars, also had an outbuilding at the back of its oblong lot, which was bordered by a low wall. Through the centuries, the houses and their outbuildings changed in size, appearance, and function. Historical events and occasional disasters influenced the development of the town core. The polymath and historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor reported that two powerful enemies from older times remained deeply imprinted in the memory of the square-the Turks and fire. The entire square burned in 1415, and half of it again in 1445. However, as Valvasor recounts, "It rose every time more beautiful from the ashes and now it is in good condition, particularly since it has three fairs a year."

Parish Church of Sv. Štefan

Learning about the history of one of the oldest parishes in Dolenjska takes us to the beginning of the 11th century when it was established by the Patriarchate of Aquileia. The present Church of Sv. Štefan stands on the site of its frequently rebuilt predecessors. One earlier church was destroyed by fire in 1778, and the present church was built between 1866 and 1868. This imposing church with its characteristic "Ribnica crowns" and its entire interior with its colourful ornamental painting are an excellent example of historicism in sacral art in Slovenia. The presbytery was painted in 1880 by J. Wolf, and the nave in 1890 by Matija Koželj. The altars were made in the stonecutting workshop of Ignacij Toman between 1871 and 1873, and the sculptures are the work of F.K. Zajc. Its important paintings include St. John the Evangelist by J. Wolf (1873) and St. Stephan the Pope by Ivan Grohar (1900). The steeples that were destroyed during World War II were replaced with steeples designed for a cathedral by the architect Jože Plečnik between 1958 and 1960.

Ribnica Castle

Probably built in the 11th century, the first mention of the castle appeared in 1263. In its many centuries of history, it had numerous owners who each gave it new form and significance appropriate to their times and circumstances. Originally, it was a normal enclosed castle with two residence buildings and a courtyard with a cistern. During the Renaissance, it was reinforced with defense towers and a moat. Valvasor also described the 15th-century chapel of St. John the Baptist. From photographs taken before World War II and the records, we can see that while the Rudež family owned it, the castle and the steward's residence comprised an imposing and well-maintained castle complex.
The present castle complex, restored between 1958 and 1961 according to the plans of architect Ciril Tavčar, now serves as a cultural center with a museum and an art gallery. In the future, the castle section will be linked with the area of Marof, the steward's residence, for the same purpose. The castle grounds contain a sculpture park of eminent Ribnica figures important in Slovenia's cultural, historical, and economic development.

Outstanding Ribnica houses

Typical of Ribnica are buildings that today retain their original appearance and the names of their original or best-known owners even though their original functions and owners have changed. The town's rich history survives through the preservation and restoration of these houses.

Mikel House

In the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the Mikel House was a meeting place for the Ribnica borough as a reading room, gostilna ("guesthouse"), and bakery. During the 1980's, the Mikel House was restored for use as a cultural center and now houses an art gallery, a library, and part of the Ribnica Regional Museum.

Štekliček House

This former school building is well known mainly because the great Slovene poet France Prešeren was a pupil here at the beginning of the 19th century. However, the Ribnica school was already famous far and wide during the 15th century and attracted students from Carniola and even more distant German provinces.

Johan House

According to its foundation, this is one of the oldest houses in the Ribnica borough, and its location shows the historical features of the beginning of the town core. It was restored in 1991 and now contains offices and apartments.

Onič House

On an older foundation and marking the end of the old town core, the architecturally interesting house of the eminent Ribnica landowner Janez Rus was built in 1882 and contained a gostilna and a store. The building was restored in 1990 and now houses offices.