The dining room

THE COLLECTION OF FEUDAL DWELLING CULTURE

The first floor of Ptuj Castle houses a collection of feudal dwelling culture with furnishings dating from the 16th to the 20th century. The furniture and artworks, which mostly come from the estate of the Counts of Herberstein, create a historic ambience in the rooms. Some of the furnishings come from the nearby castles of Vurberk, Hrastovec and Ormož, and a few pieces from the mansions of Dornava and Turnišče.
The carefully furnished rooms are adorned with ceiling stucco and lavish chandeliers, and the tile stoves and numerous clocks of various shapes and sizes are particularly striking.

The castle dining room was once an entertaining space for the castle owners and their guests. The ceiling is decorated with 18th-century stucco with the arms of alliance of the Counts of Leslie and the House of Liechtenstein.
The oldest furniture in the castle includes a late Gothic corner washstand from the second half of the 16th century and almost contemporary chairs and a table in the centre of the room.
The richly ornamented chests date from between the 16th and the 19th centuries.
A large Baroque credenza from around 1700 is the biggest piece of furniture in the collection.
There are 19 oil paintings on the sides of the Biedermeier cabinet next to the stove. The oldest are portraits of two hairy children, a boy and a girl, painted around 1600, while copies after Dutch masters from the 19th century are the most recent. On the golden background, Bacchus and Ariadne are depicted above Hephaestus and Artemis.
The walls are adorned with four precious tapestries from the early 17th century depicting scenes from the Odyssey: Odysseus Feigns Madness, Odysseus Offers Drink to Polyphemus, Odysseus and His Companions Flee from Polyphemus, and Odysseus Bids the Phaeacians Farewell. The exquisite works woven in Brussels from wool and silk threads are the legacy of the Counts of Leslie. The ten Brussels tapestries preserved in Ptuj Castle are the largest and finest collection in Slovenia.

Chamber

A smaller room with a 17th-century larch-beamed ceiling displays goblets and vessels made of glass, pewter, silver, copper, white-ware ceramics, faience, and porcelain.
Especially eye-catching is an hourglass made of four glass bowls with white and red sand, which runs through a narrow throat for 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes.
The cabinet by the window holds 18th-century porcelain known as chinoiserie for its paintings of Chinese and Japanese motifs. This type of wares from European manufactures reflects the interest in the Far East at that time.
The paintings of male water birds with nuptial plumage in their natural habitat used to adorn the Vurberk Castle. The inscription on the larger painting says that in 1643, a beaver weighing 86 pounds or 40 kilograms was caught near Vurberk.

The Herberstein Gallery

In the 19th century, this room, used for social gatherings, was called the balcony room, as it had access to a large balcony. The Louis XVI-style sofa set comes from Ormož Castle. The classical gaming table is fitted with a chess or checkers board and a mills board.
The full-length portraits from Hrastovec Castle depict important members of the Herberstein family. Oval portraits of the countesses hang above the door. The inscriptions and the meticulously painted clothing, fashion accessories, and small objects indicate the social status of the people depicted.
The portrait of the family’s most famous member, Sigismund von Herberstein, was painted in the 18th century. Born in 1486, Sigismund von Herberstein distinguished himself on the battlefield, held court offices, and went down in history as a successful diplomat. He is depicted here wearing a kaftan, a precious gift from the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, whom he met in 1541 as an imperial envoy.

The Count’s Study

The ceiling is adorned with stucco, which adapts to the shape of the older beamed ceiling.
The books in the cabinet are from the Herberstein estate. The 17th-century portraits of horses come from Vurberk Castle and show the Baroque fashion for portraying these noble and prized animals.
This room also houses a carved and gilded mirror frame from the late 17th century and an armchair in the style of Louis XIV from the early 18th century. The Brussels tapestries from the middle of the 17th century, depicting The Heron Hunt and The Duck Hunt, are from the Leslie family estate and are among the six so-called verduras, tapestries depicting landscapes densely covered with trees and dominated by the colour green.
Continue your tour through the dining room into the central part of the castle.

Insignia of the Ptuj town judge

The wonderfully preserved sword, scabbard, and staff of the Ptuj town judge are exceptional objects documenting the judicial authority in the city. They were in use from 1555 until 1787, when Emperor Joseph II dissolved the magistrate’s court and the town was given a mayor.
The judge’s sword is a hand-and-a-half sword and was not used as a weapon but as a ceremonial object to mark the honour of the town judge.
The painting entitled Ex-voto or Ice on the River Drava was commissioned by the citizens of Ptuj in gratitude for the fact that Ptuj’s patron saints, St George, St Florian, and St Mary, had protected the bridge from the accumulated ice slabs.

Connecting corridor

The corridor connects the more recent Baroque rooms with the older Gothic ones. Two embrasures are preserved in the wall; they were used by defenders of the castle.
Between them is the genealogy of the Counts of Herberstein, consisting of nine copper engravings, starting at the bottom with the founder of the family, Otto, from whom a branching family tree grows. Allegorical depictions tell of the family’s achievements in the arts, sciences, wars, and public service.
On the opposite wall is a map of Styria drawn in 1678 by the cartographer and cityscape painter Georg Matthäus Vischer. He also made the copper engravings of Ptuj and the nearby castles and monasteries for the Topography of the Duchy of Styria, also known as the Book of Castles, in 1681.

The Countess’ salon

The walls of the room used for family gatherings are now decorated with 18th-century wall coverings with Chinese motifs, which was transferred from the Dornava Mansion after the Second World War. In keeping with this theme, the room is furnished with small pieces of furniture with oriental motifs: a red and black lacquered cabinet, a chest of drawers, and a tray.
The furniture in Classical and Rococo style is from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The floor clock with a gilded figure of Chronos on top is also from Dornava Mansion.

The Countess’ bedchamber

The medallions in the corners of the ceiling stucco are allegorical representations of the four seasons: the fire symbolises winter, the flowers spring, the ears of wheat summer and the vine with grapes autumn.
The walls of the room are decorated with textile coverings featuring gallant scenes from noble life, allegorically depicting the five senses: two men pointing a bow at a squirrel in the canopy represent sight, a group of musicians and ladies with sheet music represent hearing, a lady with a white rabbit in her arms represents touch, a jolly company with full glasses represents taste, and a man with a long pipe represents smell.
The leather screen with Rococo scenes dates from the 19th century.

The Countess’ dressing room

Smaller rooms in the central part of the castle were once used for private family life.
The portraits of the Counts of Attems, works of painter Joseph Digl, used to adorn the festival hall of Dornava Mansion. The large representational portrait from 1736 depicts Thaddeus Cajetan Count Attems.
The portrait of his wife Maria Anna, born Countess Wurmbrandt, holding the hand of their nine-year-old son, Joseph Thaddeus, dates from the same year.

The old chapel

Until the end of the 17th century, this room housed a chapel, as evidenced by the richly decorated ceiling with the oldest surviving stucco in the castle. In the 1770s, the Counts of Leslie had the room painted with decorative Rococo paintings. The copper wine vessel dates from the 17th century, the telescope and the baby carriage from the 19th century.

The Countess’ boudoir

The Gothic pointed arch portal from the first half of the 14th century leads into a room that may have once served as a sacristy. The photographs show scenes from the life of the Herbersteins at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, as well as their castles in Styria and Czechia.
The small pieces of furniture include an 18th-century spinning wheel and cradle covered with a precious Turkish silk blanket. Turkish handicrafts were highly valued in European countries for their quality and decorative qualities. The inventories of Styrian castles list Turkish carpets, which were also used to cover tables and upholster furniture.

Lady’s Maid’s room

In the room with mid-18th-century wall coverings from Dornava Mansion, there is an interesting Baroque corner cupboard, which may have been used for storing guns.
The nativity cabinet by the window dates from the same century. The lower part of the cupboard is a kneeler, while the upper part would hold the nativity scene at Christmastime.
The precious lady’s writing desk in the second window niche has drawer fronts decorated with Tuscan landscapes made of semi-precious stones and multi-coloured marble.
On the wall hangs a fascinating astronomical clock dating from the mid-17th century. The four dials show the hours, days, planets, and moons, while the fifth one regulates the clock’s beat.

Toilet

The small corner room used to be the only toilet on the first floor of the castle.
A chandelier in the shape of a dragoness, made around 1900, once hung in Borl Castle.
The two cabinets decorated with Renaissance ornamentation are made in 17th-century style. The paintings also date from this period. The two larger ones, Lucrezia and The Cypriot Lady Burning the Turkish Ships, are from Vurberk Castle and are part of a series depicting brave, virtuous and strong women.

Joseph’s room

The large bed with turned posts dates from the 17th century. The night clock on the side table has a shelf on the back, on which a candle or oil lamp was placed to illuminate the pierced numbers on the dial from the back.
A rare curiosity is a travelling case from around 1700. The ornaments made of iron sheeting indicate that it was made somewhere in the Balkans.
The 17th-century paintings are from Vurberk Castle. The largest, painted by a skilled Baroque painter, depicts the mythological motif of Pan and Daphnis.

The Countess’ room

The bedroom and living room sets are designed in the Empire style, which is characterised by the imitation of ancient, oriental, and Egyptian motifs. Similar sets were commissioned by the Viennese court at the beginning of the 19th century to furnish their castles.
The ceramic stove with a mirror was built shortly after 1800 and also served as a humidifier. Water could be poured into the basin under the mirror, which evaporated when the stove was hot.
The chandelier is made of the famous Murano glass.
Two bourgeois portraits, painted in pastel around 1830, hang above the bed.
The three larger Vurberk paintings from around 1700 depict couples from ancient history: Masinissa and the Death of Sophonisba, The Continence of Scipio and Fausta Seducing Crispus, the Son of Constantine.

Leopold’s room

The Biedermeier-era furnishings on display were popular in Habsburg lands between 1815 and 1848. Elegant and functional, they were also popular among the bourgeoisie. A mirror is inserted in the back of the display cabinet, which helps to give the optical impression of duplication of the porcelain placed in it.
Several paintings hang on the walls: Night Landscape with a Castle by the Lake, portraits of Emperor Ferdinand I and his wife, Empress Maria Anna of Savoy, and portraits of Ptuj’s bourgeoisie and their children.

THE FESTIVAL HALL AND THE COLLECTION OF TURQUERIES

In the second half of the 17th century, the Counts of Leslie built a festival hall and chapel in the north-east wing of the castle building. The hall was used for events, balls, and banquets for distinguished guests. The Leslie family used it to display a gallery of their ancestors and portraits of some European rulers. Today, the hall houses the Collection of Turqueries, a series of 47 paintings with Turkish motifs, created shortly after Walter Count Leslie’s brilliant diplomatic mission to Istanbul in 1665 and 1666. They were brought to Ptuj Castle from Vurberk Castle in 1907. The paintings depict famous Turkish and European military leaders and dignitaries, ladies from the Ottoman Empire and people from faraway lands. The collection documents the early interest of educated Europeans in foreign cultures and reveals their ideas about the mysterious, rich and exotic Orient.

THE CASTLE CHAPEL

Above the entrance to the chapel is the coat of arms of the Leslie family, encircled with a gilded chain with the Order of the Golden Fleece. This highest imperial decoration was awarded to Walter Count Leslie by Emperor Leopold I in 1665 for his achievements in military service and diplomacy, prior to his successful mission to the Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV.
The chapel is dedicated to the Holy Family and was used for worship by the castle owners, their guests, and servants. During the services, they sat on walnut pews from the late 17th century. The altarpiece made of black stained pear wood, decorated with carved and gilded lime wood ornaments, was made at the end of the 17th century. It includes oil paintings of the Holy Family and God the Father.
The oil paintings on the walls are copies of works by great European masters. From left to right, we see copies of St Jerome by Guido Reni, the Plague of Ashdod by Nicolas Poussin, the Martyrdom of St Andrew by Domenichino and Christ and the Adulteress by Paolo Veronese.

THE ARCADE CORRIDOR

The Counts of Leslie displayed paintings of their ancestors and of some European rulers, which were still hanging in the festival hall of Ptuj Castle in 1858. In 1860 they were taken to the Dietrichstein Palace in Vienna and from there to Frydlant Castle in Czechia, where they remain until today. Their reproductions are on display in the arcade corridor of Ptuj Castle.