Graben Castle (German: Schloss Graben) is a medieval castle that was rebuilt into its current form in the early 16th century. It is located on the right bank of the Krka River, 2 km from Novo mesto, between the villages of Ragovo and Krka. It is now in a rather dilapidated state. The towered castle was the original castle of the noble family of the Grabenský knights of Kamen (von Graben von Steini).[2]
Historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor states in his work "Glory of the Voivodeship of Carniola" that the Grabenský castle is indirectly mentioned through two knights, the brothers Konrad and Grimoald of Graben, who are said to have lived around 1170. Valvasor further states that the owner of the castle around 1330 was Ulrik II. Grabenski. With the death of Rupert IV. Grabenski in 1468[3], the last male member of the Carniolan (basic) Grabenski family, the castle passed into the possession of the Carinthian branch of Grabenski. Thus, the Graben lordship and castle were in the possession of Virgil Grabenski (Virgil von Graben) until 1507, after which, after his death, they passed into the hands of cousins ​​from the Styrian Grabenski line of Kornberg – brothers Andrej, Viljem and Wolfgang Grabenski.[2]
The Graben castle and lordship belonged to Jurij pl. Mordax from 1510. The Mordax knights added to the towered castle on three sides and fortified it with a circular wall. The building was the family seat of this family until the beginning of the 18th century. At that time, it was purchased by Count Sigfrid Baltazar Gallenberg before 1709. Twenty years later, the lordship was merged with the lordship of Grm and Zaboršt. In 1751, the property passed to Baron Michelangelo Zois Edelsteinski, whose heirs sold the castle in 1810 to the Czech Anton Smola and his wife Klara. The last private owner until World War II was the Jalen family from Kranjska Gora. They converted the building into a one-story building with a pyramidal roof and a stone, column-supported balcony, which today houses apartments, owned by the Krka Agricultural Cooperative. Today, the manor is privately owned by the company Agroma TS.