Coat of arms of the Lamberg family in Drnča Mansion
DVORSKA VAS, DRNčA MANSION
Location of the coat of arms: façade
The façade of Drnča Mansion (Dermitschhoff), located in Upper Carniola between the villages of Zgoša and Dvorska Vas near Begunje, displays a very well-preserved stone plaque informing the visitor that in 1531 the building was completely rebuilt or “raised from the ground” by Baron Jakob von Lamberg, the councilor of Emperor Ferdinand and the provincial governor of Carniola. The Lamberg coat of arms is carved in the middle of the inscription, which reads in the original as follows: ROM: KAY: MT ETC. FERDINANDI RATH / VND LANDTSHAVBTMAN IN CRAIN / HERR IACOB VON LAMBERG FREYHERR / ZVM STAIN VND GVETEN= / BERG LIESS MICH VOM / GRVNT IM 1.5.31. IAR / ERHEBEN VND WARD / VOLGE[N]TS MIT KAŸ= / SERLICHER VND LANTS= / FVRSTLICHER FREŸHAIT / ZV[M] GVETENBERG GENANT / GOT GEB GLVKSALIG END 1.5.58. This piece of information was used by historians and art historians in their research into the history of the building and its inhabitants. Yet, in doing so, they overlooked an important detail: the plaque refers not to Drnča Mansion but to Gutenberg Castle.
In the sixteenth century, Drnča was still in the hands of the Gallenbergs (who must have given it a Renaissance-style makeover) and did not become part of the Lamberg estate before the early seventeenth century. Its existence and appearance therefore had nothing to do with Jakob Lamberg, who, in fact, never held it in possession. He did, however, own Glanz Castle, which once stood above the village of Slatna at the foot of Mount Dobrča near Begunje. The castle suffered severe damage in the earthquake of 1511—which explains why Lamberg restored it or “raised it from the ground” (Germ. vom grvnt erheben) and obtained permission from Emperor Ferdinand in 1557 to rename it Gutenberg (Germ. zvm Gvetenberg genant). This is precisely what is being communicated by the heraldic plaque, which once graced Gutenberg, but, after the castle fell into ruin, it was transferred and incorporated into Drnča. This is, not least, also confirmed in Johann Weikhard von Valvasor’s depiction of Drnča, in which one will search in vain for the memorial plaque above the entrance, even though the mansion itself has largely remained unchanged to the present day.
Further revealing that Drnča Mansion was not the original location of the memorial plaque is the stone it is made of, which is markedly different from the stone that was used to create other Renaissance elements on the mansion’s exterior. Furthermore, the damage caused to the old plaster around the plaque until the last renovation work performed in 2011 also indicated that the plaque was secondarily built into the façade of Drnča Mansion.
Sources:
Dremelj, Luka: Začetki rodbine Lamberg na Kranjskem (s poudarkom na liniji s Kamna in Gutenberga). Kronika 70, 2023, no. 1, pp. 5–28 (DOI: 10.56420/Kronika.71.1.01)
Jakič, Ivan: Vsi slovenski gradovi, Ljubljana: DZS, 1999, p. 99.
Kos, Dušan: Turnirska knjiga Gašperja Lambergerja. Ljubljana, 1997.
Sapač, Igor: Gutenberg in Glanz oziroma Novi Gutenberg. Stavbnozgodovinski oris. Kronika 68, 2020, no. 3 (Iz zgodovine Tržiča), pp. 375–438.
Smole, Majda: Graščine na nekdanjem Kranjskem. Ljubljana, DZS, 1982.
Stopar, Ivan: Grajske stavbe v osrednji Sloveniji. I. Gorenjska. Ob zgornjem toku Save (vol. 6). Ljubljana; Viharnik, 1996, pp. 37–38.
Dvorska Vas, Drnča Mansion
dvorec DRNČA, Dvorska vas, Begunje na Gorenjskem, SlovenijaOther coats of arms of the Lamberg family
Coat of arms of the Lamberg family in Stari Trg pri Ložu
Stari trg pri Ložu
Coat of arms of the Lamberg family in Kacenštajn Castle
Begunje na Gorenjskem