10 Reasons You Must Visit Slovenia

8. Castles That May Or May Not Be Disney Castles

In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, shows Lake Bled in Slovenia with a island and the Church of Our Lady on it. Tucked in the southwestern corner of Slovenia, between Austria and Italy, stands a spectacular landscape: a lush tiny island in the mid
Flickr // Bryan Pocius

As soon as I finished typing that title I drew a blank regarding castles in Disney, but you get the idea. Castles are supposed to be one of two things; dramatic or ruined. Luckily for the less morbid among us, Slovenia does a great line in dramatic castles. The one pictured above is at Lake Bled, making for one of the most dramatic scenes in the country. You may notice I'm using the word 'dramatic' a lot here, and I'd like to make clear that this is 'dramatic' in an awesome storm sort of manner, not in a Hollyoaks sort of way.

The castles in the country are hundreds and hundreds of years old, and many have been beautifully restored to something approaching their former glory after they were sort of ruined after World War Two. Driving through the country seems to be something of a castle bingo, as you tick off the mansions you can see sitting pretty on hills off in the distance. Want a castle jutting out the side of a mountain? Head to Predjama Castle. Want the former home of Slovenia's most powerful historical family? Celje Castle mate. How about a pretty incredible collection of taxidermy? Then Snežnik is bound to be your bag. Heck, if you happen to be looking for one of the biggest collections of African art on the continent, you'll be surprised to know you're in luck. Don't believe me? Head to Velenje Castle. 

Ask any local what their town has to offer to tourists, and the chances are they'll reply with some gushing words about their castle. The chances are they'll be right in doing so.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.