Description
The mansion above the village of Lože is a large building dominating the Upper Vipava Valley characterised by a rich and fascinating history. Its beginnings are believed to date back to a mediaeval noble court. The most prominent imprint on the castellated structure was left by the family of Cobenzl from Gorizia, one of the most influential noble dynasties in the service of the imperial court during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the mid-17th century, Johann Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl had the mediaeval building redesigned to its current layout. The central body of this imposing late-Renaissance mansion that faces the valley is accentuated by two corner towers. Among the highlights of the mansion were its large art collection and invaluable furnishings.
After the extinction of the noble house of Cobenzl in 1810, the Lože mansion and estate were inherited by Count Michael Coronini von Cronberg, who sold it in 1822 to a surgeon raised to nobility, Joseph Mayer. He and his family moved to the Vipava Valley from Bavaria, but they quickly integrated with the local environment and became staunch promoters of Slovene cultural efforts. One of the most prominent members of this lineage who deserves mention is Ana Mayer Kansky, the first woman to be awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Ljubljana (on 15 July 1920) and the first to hold an academic position at that university.
The mansion remained in the ownership of the Mayer family until the Second World War. They carefully preserved the collection of paintings from the time of the Cobenzls, as well as the luxurious Baroque furniture, archives, and library. During the war, however, they left the mansion, taking the art collection with them and thus probably saving it from destruction. In fact, after their departure, the premises were looted on several occasions, both by military authorities and civilians, and most of the furnishings were destroyed.
After the end of the war, the mansion was nationalised. Between 1947 and 1961, a vocational-agricultural school operated in it; when the school closed down, the building was repurposed as apartments and even industrial warehouse space. Poor maintenance has led it to its current state of neglect and ruin.
