Following a successful application for European funding for the restoration of monuments owned by municipalities in the period 2010–2012 (under call for applications Ref. ERDF/CS 2010–2012), a comprehensive restoration of the castle began at the end of April 2011. It followed project documentation drawn up by Aleš Hafner and was executed alongside a correlated revitalisation of content, which was carefully planned in the course of years of preparation. The conservation aspects of this comprehensive restoration were supervised by Alenka Železnik while the day-to-day operations were headed by Jože Drešar. The restoration of the castle included simultaneous archaeological and architectural research and revealed a number of remarkably important architectural elements, dating predominately to the 12th-through-16th centuries. They were conserved, repaired, and reconstructed based on material evidence, then used to enrich castle architecture and further our understanding of its architectural development.
The Romanesque south-east tower and its unique chapel lent the castle a representative role and consolidated its reputation as one of Slovenia's oldest and most important castles. Re-establishing the moat with its stone bridge, and clearing the castle hill’s vegetation have also radically changed the way in which the castle is perceived within its physical setting: i.e. as a powerful fortification atop a prominence above the confluence of the Brestanica stream and the Sava River.
The building's present-day appearance is the result of several decades of labour put in by numerous experts and skilled professionals, who worked on Rajhenburg Castle. Its comprehensive restoration brought the castle building close to its original form, which is what this remarkable architectural monument deserves!
Alenka Železnik, conservator, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia
Alenka Černelič Krošelj, The Krško Culture House
