There isn't a place in Slovenia with more castles and ruins than the Savinja River basin. There are several reasons for this. First, it should be noted that until 1140 this was the centre of the Savinja March; that many estates here were held by Carinthian bishops of the Diocese of Gurk (Krško); and, last but not least, that many noble dynasties made this area their home. The Counts of Celje were undoubtedly the most important among them.
Castles are a reflection of an era. However, as time passed and the way of life changed and developed, castles were accepted and viewed upon differently. Their curiously dramatic past and present have always stirred up imagination. A number of stories have been invented about them and their inhabitants, which were then passed on from generation to generation to this day. It is this type of tales and legends of castles and their residents preserved in the folk memory and tradition that allow us to relive the fabulous past among the castle ruins. These ruins are still pompously towering over the valleys or remain proudly perched on cliffs, not allowing their fame of the days gone by to fall to oblivion.
Many tales and legend were preserved through oral lore, such as the ones about the Old Castle and the Lower Castle, the Counts and Imperial Princes of Celje, and the Teharje dynasty.
(The tales and legends are adapted from the work of Janko Orožen: Gradovi in graščine v narodnem izročilu (Castles and Mansions in Folklore), 1936)
