Difference between revisions 596496504 and 599900697 on enwiki

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[[image:Panorama del castello di Predjama (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Predjama Castle]]
[[File:Predjama castle cave.JPG|thumb||250px|Cave mouth of Predjama Castle]]
(contracted; show full)ed the commander of the Imperial army Marshall Pappencheim, who had offended the honour of Erazem's deceased friend, Andrej Baumkircher of [[Vipava, Slovenia|Vipava]]. Fleeing from the revenge of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], Erazem settled in the family fortress of Predjama. He allied himself with the [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] king [[Matthias Corvinus of Hungary|Matthias Corvinus]] and began to attack Habsburg estates and towns in [[Carniola]].
  

A headstrong and rebellious knight, Erazem rebelled against the Austrian emperor Fredrick III and eventually killed his kinsman. Thus enraged, the Austrian leader commissioned the governor of Trieste, Andrej Ravbar, to capture and kill Erazem. This is when the impregnability of Predjama Castle was tested.

For a year and a day, Erazem was besieged in his fortress. But to the dismay of his adversaries, he continued to survive and taunt the attacking soldiers by pelting them with cherries. They could not understand how he was obtaining supplies. As far as they knew, there was only one way in and out of both the valley and castle; but the Erazem knew better. Unbeknown to the soldiers, Erazem knew of a secret tunnel leading from the castle, which allowed him to travel to the nearby village of Vipava and collect supplies, including hoards of fresh cherries when in season.

But it seemed that the soldiers were to have the last laugh. With the strategic placement of a small signal flag, a servant of Erazem was bribed to reveal when his master was in attendance at that place where the elusive knight and even the noblest of men needed to go after consuming lots of cherries and wine: the outhouse. Unfortunately for Erazem, the toilet, situated on the top floor and at the very edge of the castle, was the one place that was not impregnable. When the moment came, the flag was placed there by the treacherous servant. A single cannon  ball was launched, and Erazem was literally caught with his trousers down.<ref name="Erazem Predjamski">{{cite web|title=Erazem Predjamski|url=http://skerazem.org/Erazem-Predjamski.html|publisher=SK Erazem|accessdate=18 August 2013}}</ref>

=== After the reconstruction ===
After the siege and destruction of the original castle, its ruins were acquired by the Oberburg noble family. In 1511, the second castle, built by the Purgstall family in the first decade of the 16th century, was destroyed in an earthquake. In the year 1567, [[Charles II, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Charles of Austria]] leased the castle to baron Philipp von Cobenzl, who paid it off after 20 years. In 1570, the current castle was built in the [[Renaissance style]], pressed next to a vertical cliff under the original Medieval fortification. The castle has remained in this form, virtually unchanged, to the present day.  

In the 18th century, it became one of the favourite summer residences of the Cobenzl noble family. Both the Austrian statesman [[Philipp von Cobenzl]] and the diplomat [[Count Ludwig von Cobenzl]] spent time in the castle.

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{{Postojna}}
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[[Category:Castles in Inner Carniola]]
[[Category:Cultural monuments of Slovenia]]
[[Category:Municipality of Postojna]]
[[Category:Cave castles]]