Hilltop Branik Castle, Branik, Slovenia
© Samo Trebizan/Shutterstock
The bastion of Branik
Known either by its old German name Rihemberk, or as Branik Castle after the modern Slovenian town nearby, this rebuilt keep is the latest of many to grace this hilltop. First fortified by the Romans, the site became home to a series of aristocratic families, with its oldest records dating to the 1200s. The complex's owners reshaped and added to it continually as it changed hands over the centuries—but World War II brought this to an end as the Partisans dynamited and severely damaged the castle. Yugoslavia nationalized the site after the war, but rebuilding wouldn't begin until the 1980s—and despite the castle's current polished look, some of its prewar profile is still missing.
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