Bogenšperk Castle (412 m above sea level) is located in the municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji, on the ridge of Strmec nad Dvorom. The Renaissance castle has been beautifully restored and, due to its history, is among the most important cultural and historical monuments of Slovenia. It is a cultural monument of national importance and a venue for many cultural events.
The castle has a square ground plan and is mostly a two-story building with four wings, connected by defensive towers at three corners and surrounding an inner courtyard.
The building has a medieval effect with its massiveness. On the left is a strong round tower with a defensive cantilever cornice under the eaves. Here, on the right, the building rises one floor. The facade is enlivened by a stone, Renaissance-style portal with a wooden balcony. On the left floor, there is a pier on consoles. Perhaps the remains of the former castle chapel. The north-eastern tower is integrated into the residential wing and extends into the courtyard, where it has a picturesque pier on the upper floor. The southeastern tower was once taller and, according to Valvasor, was often struck by lightning. The courtyard looks completely medieval. It feels like the castle was not built all at once, but developed gradually. At first, it was a simple tower-like building, today's northeastern corner tower, which has a characteristic late Gothic portal with chamfered edges. The arcades are younger.
An interesting feature is the well, cut into the living rock, which Valvasor deepened from the original eight fathoms. Valvasor also added cellars. Wooden ceilings have been preserved inside.
The first mention of Bogenšperk is from 1533, when the castle steward Jurij Benčič - Jorg Wentschitsch phleger zu Wagensperg is mentioned. The next is from 1544, when Hans Wagen zu Wagensperg is mentioned.
The oldest part of the castle is the northeastern tower, which originally stood independently and also served as a living space. It was later connected to the southeast tower via a wooden bridge, which served as a defensive tower and was much higher than the rest of the castle (in 1759, lightning started a fire there, which severely damaged the building, so it was never rebuilt to its original height). The castle is built on a rock, and one of the attractions is a deep well carved into the rock.