Cmurek Castle

Cmurek castle stands on a cliff, high above the Mura River, at the very northern edge of the Slovenske Gorice. It belongs to the 5 oldest preserved castles in Slovenia, and was first mentioned in the 12th century. The romanesque design of the castle is complemented by a renaissance image with an emphasis on the impressive arcaded courtyard. The original owners of the castle were free noblemen from Cmurek, and in 1401 the castle passed into the ownership of the Stubenberg family, who bought the estate from the Counts of Celje. The Stubenbergs owned the castle until 1931. After the Second World War, the Institute for Mental and Nervous Diseases operated in the castle until 2004. Today, it houses the emerging Museum of Madness, which revives the ancient and recent history of the castle building, which is related to the treatment of people with mental health problems.