View of the Polhov Gradec castle and the nearby tower, residence of Counts Ursini von Blagay
Count Rihard Ursini von Blagay (17 August 1786 – 14 March 1858) was an aristocrat, Slovene botanist and patron of the arts. He was both first cousin and uncle-in-law of Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg, an Austrian poet and liberal politician from Carniola, better known as Anastasius Grün.[1]
He organized numerous cultural gatherings of Slovene en-lighteners at his estate, Polhov Gradec Castle, which he acquired through the marriage to the noble Billichgrätz family. At the site of the old castle an octagonal gloriette was later built, which his wife, Countess Antonia turned into a chapel in 1853, adding 14 shrines for the Stations of the Cross to it to create a Calvary.[3] As one of the first Župans of the Ljubljana district, Richard operated in Slovenia. He also collected Slovene plant species for the naturalist Heinrich Freyer.[4]
Personal life
In 1808 he married his third cousin, Baroness Antonia von Billichgrätz zu Baumkircherthurm und Hilzenegkh (1792-1861), an heiress of Billichgrätz family and Polhov Gradec castle.[5] She was the younger daughter of Baron Joseph Anton von Billichgrätz zu Baumkircherthurm und Hilzenegkh (1748-1808) and his wife, Countess Maria Josefa von Gallenberg (1760-1813).[6] The marriage remained childless. In 1875, the castle was purchased by Urbančič family, local nobility, owners of Turn Castle. The buyer was Luiza Urbančič (1842-1918), sister-in-law of Josipina Turnograjska, one of the first Slovene female writers, poets, and composers.[7]
