Exhibition on Feudal Dwelling Culture
The first floor of the Ptuj Castle hosts the collection of feudal dwelling culture spanning the period from the 16th to the 20th century. The rooms, arranged in such order to reproduce the historical ambience, are mostly furnished with furniture and artefacts from the Herberstein legacy. The exhibits were brought from the nearby castles of Vurberk and Hrastovec at the beginning of the 20th century. Few items were also brought here after 1945 from the nearby castles, mainly from the Dornava baroque manor house.
The last owners of the Castle compiled an important collection of family portraits including the one of Siegmund Herberstein, a diplomat and military commander from the 16th century, painted with a Turkish coat offered to him as a gift by the sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Among the precious works of art, there are invaluable Brussels tapestries from the 17th century, showing the story of the Greek hero Odysseus, as well as pastoral scenes. Tapestries are part of the counts Leslie legacy.
The counts Leslie had the north-eastern castle wing rearranged into a representative hall and a chapel in the second half of the 17th century. The hall nowadays hosts the Collection of Turqueries, paintings with Turkish motifs created in the 17th century, and brought to the Ptuj castle from the castle in Vurberk. These paintings represent well-known Turkish and European military commanders and dignitaries, Ladies from the Ottoman Empire, and inhabitants of distant countries. The collection gives evidence of interest that educated Europeans began to show for foreign cultures. It is the biggest such collection in whole Europe.
