Fala Castle

Sights that are worth visiting

Fala Castle

Fala Castle was constructed in the 12th century by the Benedictine abbots of St. Paul. They had transferred their Drava estates from Lovrenec to Fala Castle which was a more central location. Mute Wolf Spangsteiner and Oton Pergauer, the Bamberg governors, led a military conflict against the castle between 1405 and 1407 which resulted in its destruction. The beginnings of the current castle were probably created shortly after 1407. The abbots fortified it in 1550 as a preemptive measure against the Turkish invasions. The original mansion was a relatively modest building in the 16th or perhaps the 15th century. The property changed hands several times, but it became a significant cultural center in 1620 when the University of Vienna conducted philosophical, theological, and economic studies there. This makes Falski Castle the first higher education institution in Slovenia. After the Josephine reforms, the school and the Benedictine monastery were dissolved, and the property went through several ownership changes. After the Second World War, the castle was used as social property, with various apartments.

In the second half of the 12th century, the Pohorje area between the Radoljna and Bezene basins was firmly under St. Paul's estate. By the end of the 12th century, Šentpavel had gained a leading position in the Drava Valley, especially in its central part centered on Fala. The abbots of Šentpavel moved the center of their Styrian Obdravian possessions from remote Lovrenec in Pohorje to the Drava valley, to Fala, which was first mentioned in 1245.

Throughout the century, the core of the Styrian estate of Saint Paul was east of Remšnik on Fala. Until the death of Bernard Spannheim, it seemed that the center of the monastic property around Maribor near Razvanju would be created. With Bernard's death, the property situation for Šentpavel in Styria changed significantly.

In the new situation, the Benedictines were looking for a new center for their Obdrava council, and in doing so, decided not to go to the remote Lovrenc but to Fala ob Dravi. In Fala, they signed a contract in favor of Šentpavlo in 1311.

The Ogres besieged Radlje on the Drava in 1259, and at that time, it probably became the first false outpost, standing slightly higher than the present-day castle, a victim of the war.

After 1340, the castle passed into the hands of different owners. In 1377, Falo was owned by Albrecht von der Fall, an administrator in Graz. Then Otto Pergauer from Mute, a vassal from Celje, who in 1407 destroyed Falski Castle, among the most famous stewards of the false lordship, although historically not always reliable enough, Hofrichter considered the writer of the answers to the survey of the false of the recruitment district, Pokorny. It also reminds me of Alojzij Sparovitz (a Šparovci man who later bought the Studenica manor), Johann Tschinkowitz, and Carl Ipawitz (a relative of the famous musical Ipav family).

The arrangement of a small monastery in the castle was of great importance in the history of Fala Castle. It made Fala a cultural center even before Maribor. An internal higher school was organized as an introduction to theology, but only for future Benedictine priests. In 1620, a department of the University of Vienna with lectures on philosophy, theology, and economics was founded in Fala. In 1628, the University of Vienna confirmed the statute of the University of Fali. The influx of students and newcomers was quite large, as Falski Castle gave them refuge from the horrors of the thirty-year war with the Turks. Merninger also traveled with them. After his election as abbot of St. Paul's Monastery in 1638, the school was dissolved.

The Fala Jesuit College played a significant role in the Academy from 1644 to 1759, as it was run by priests who taught students. During this period, 6,931 students graduated from high school, including 603 sons of the Austrian nobility, who later became archbishops, prelates, governors, princes, and counts.

When the Benedictine administration was in charge of the false manor, it was the largest manor in the Drava Valley, and the monastery managed the vast forest areas efficiently. The monastery introduced afforestation of high-quality conifers and replaced beech forests with coniferous forests as beech wood was not so useful for the economy at that time.

With the Josephine reforms, the monasteries were dissolved, and after the St. Paul's monastery was abolished in 1782, Fala became a state estate with civil administrators. In 1824, Martin Liebmann, a wealthy businessman, bought the castle, and he was later knighted as Martin Freiherr von Rast. During his ownership, the false manor contributed to the socio-economic development of the region in many ways. Many owners of ironworks, glassworks, and other businesses concluded long-term contracts with Rast for the exploitation of the forest economy. In 1830, Rast decided to build a bridge to improve management and connectivity with Maribor. Unfortunately, the bridge was demolished in 1836 by a rising river, and only the abutment on the right bank remains.

Between 1860-1875, Peter von der Kettenburg ruled the castle, and Count Zabea and their son-in-law Pavel Glančnik managed it from 1875-1945.

After the liberation, the manor became state-owned, and during this post-war period, most of the rich interior furnishings, along with many valuables, were lost or destroyed by the residents, who gave each other the keys to the castle gates.