Bogenšperk Castle in Šmartno pri Litiji, Slovenia, rents out the whole building or single rooms for business, social, cultural, music and scientific events. Spaces range from a lecture hall for 30 to a courtyard with 150 chairs. Weddings are held in the Castle Library, which takes about 70 guests. The castle is run by the public institute Javni zavod Bogenšperk and is best known as the home of the polymath Janez Vajkard Valvasor.
Seminars and company events
The castle lists business events among the uses it hires out for. The Lecture Hall, named after the Russian-Slovenian Centre of Davorin Hostnik, holds 30 and comes with 30 chairs, a large table, a projector and screen, and a computer. It suits a workshop, a presentation or a scientific symposium. The Gallery and the Arcade Corridor are described as spaces for mingling and business gatherings. Both have a projector, a screen and a computer, with seating for 40 in each.
For a larger gathering, the Courtyard (the Atrium) offers 150 chairs, tables and the same presentation equipment. A retractable roof covers it in bad weather, so a plenary session or reception does not depend on the forecast.
Weddings and receptions
The Castle Library is called the most prestigious room and serves as the wedding hall, with 70 chairs. Ceremonies can also take place outdoors, in the lime tree avenue, the flower garden, the Pod skal'co area or the Renaissance arcade corridor. Indoors, the gallery tower is an option for a smaller setting. A church wedding can be held in the castle chapel, and the chapel is free for couples who also hold a civil ceremony at the castle.
The wedding package includes a sparkling wine toast for the couple and the witnesses. The meal and the celebration are not included and are arranged separately with the castle tavern, the Krčma. A carriage can be rented as an extra.
Rooms and capacities
The official site gives these figures. The Castle Library holds about 70. The Courtyard has 150 chairs. The Gallery holds up to 70 with 40 chairs. The Arcade Corridor takes up to 70 visitors and 40 seated. The Lecture Hall holds 30. Each room is equipped with a projector and screen, and the Library also has a music tower. The Courtyard is noted for its acoustics, which suits concerts and receptions.
Catering
Food is not part of the room hire. The castle tavern, the Krčma, handles wedding meals and celebrations, and the site mentions refreshments in the Courtyard and the Arcade Corridor. Menus and packages are not published, so ask the tavern about numbers and formats.
History and setting
Valvasor wrote about the castle in his seventeenth-century description of Carniola, calling it an old mountain castle built on a high hill among forests. He set up at Bogenšperk what the castle presents as the first museum on Slovenian soil, and the museum exhibitions still tell his story. A visit to them can be arranged for guests during an event.
Getting there
The address is Bogenšperk 5, 1275 Šmartno pri Litiji, Slovenia. The site does not describe accommodation on the property, so overnight stays need to be booked elsewhere.
