Present mansion is a successor of a court mentioned in 14th and 15th century, but Oton of Kunšperk from Stopnik
already in 1257 imparted two estates near village villa Purch to monastery from Gornji Grad. The meaning
of the word villa is village and the meaning of the word Purch is castle. In 1341 hof zu Purch pei Vrench
- near Vransko, is mentioned. Monastery of Gornji Grad which held estates here, subject to office in Volog, imparted
it to Rudolf Vajst and in 1376 his son Rudlein got it in lease. At the time the court is mentioned as Podgrad
for the first time. The word has the same meaning as the German word Burgstall and proves old fortified continuity
of the location. It's the court which is later in 1426 mentioned in land register of Gornji Grad as Curia zu Podgor
and in 1431 as hoff Podgradt in Vranczker pharr. In 1436 and in 1456 are mentioned estates which Gašper Vajst
leased near Vransko from Counts of Celje and later from provincial prince, but Podgrad is was among them, but Eberhard Pauer
from Ig in 1432 changed his feudal court Podgrad in Gornji Grad for some other estates and after it went to lease to
Mihael Weltz. In 1483 the court was a posession of Andrej Freisteiner and his wife Magdalena. In 1536 bishop of Ljubljana
Krištof Ravbar, lord of Gornji Grad, changed court near Vransko, located under the chapel with defence walls of St.Hieronim -
den Hof zu Fraintzkh vnndter sanndt Iheronimus thaber Cappeln, gelegen which was once a property of one Golob, with
his brother-in-law Friderikom Rebrški (von Rechberg), who was at the time manager of Gornji Grad, for two farms.
In 1542 the court's value was estimated to be 50 Pounds - Geschatz purgstall, so yetzo ganz ödt vnd nichts peilhe
hat 50 Pfd. dl. and its provincial court-of-law to 220 Pounds. The court was severely desolated at the time.
In 1652 J.F. count Schrottenbach sold noblemen residence - Edl Sitz Purgstall to Joh. Karlu Sandbauer, later
ennobled v. Samburg. Its following owners were: in 1681 his daughter Suzana Aptaltrer, in 1726 Marija A. Strassberg,
in 1737 her nephew J. L. noble Hohenwart, in 1781 Maksimilijana noble Renzenberg, née noble Brandenau, in 1792 Peter F.
Hillebrand followed by his widow Jožefa, remaried Perše, in 1801 Cecilija Talničer, in 1807 Marija, widowed Skubic and
remaried Pečak, followed by Jožef and then his brother Franc Skubic, in 1827 Matija Perko, followed by his son Anton
Vincenc Perko who sold the estate in 1846 to Nepomuk Gustav baron Wittenbach, Wittenbach's successors until 1916, then
Peter Majduč whose property was until the last war. Right after occupation the castle building, which was under reconstruction
at the time, seized by Germans. Until the 1990s there were still apartments in the manor.
The manor is currently uninhabited, some of its rooms are arranged for various purpose, also basement is in use. The thing
that most attracts people to the manor is a wellspring from underground cave and few centuries old linden tree on the
courtyard.
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