Loka pri Žusmu (Žamerk) - Castle Žusem

Access to starting point:
We leave the Štajerska highway at the Dramlje exit, then follow the signs for Šentjur. From the center of Šentjur, we continue briefly towards the settlement of Šmarje pri Jelšah, but soon turn right onto the road towards Podsreda and Planina pri Sevnici. When Šentjur ends, we soon turn left from the main road in the direction of Podsreda, Kozje, and Gorica pri Slivnici. When we get to the settlement Gorica pri Slivnici, we head from the roundabout to the exit for Sodna vas. Gorica pri Slivnici soon ends, and we bypass Slivniško jezero on the right side, then drive for quite some time on the road to the settlement Loka pri Žusmu, where we turn right into the center of the settlement, and at the church of St. Leopold, we turn right again in the direction of the settlements Dobrina and Virštanj. There follows some ascent, and we follow the road to the hamlet Žamerk, where the described path begins by the chapel and the bus stop. At the starting point, there are no arranged parking spots.
To the starting point, we can also get from the direction of the road Brežiče - Podplat, namely over Roginska Gorca and Zgornje Tinsko.

Route description:
From the chapel in the hamlet Žamerk, we head to the western side of the road, where a trail blaze on a sign directs us to a side road. The path ahead leads us past a few houses, and behind the last house in the hamlet, the asphalt ends. We continue past a small quarry and begin ascending diagonally through the forest; higher up, we leave the forest and ascend a scenic grassy slope. The diagonal ascent ends when we reach the indistinct 405-meter-high peak Vrhovnica, where the path turns left.
Here follows a few steps of easy descent, and we arrive at a crossroad from which we continue straight (the left road leads to a few individual houses), bypassing the nearby house on the right side. The path ahead leads us through a strip of forest, then splits.
To the left continues the Grajska učna pot Žusem, but we continue along the road, which is asphalt from the last crossroad onward.
Next follows a somewhat longer diagonal ascent on a moderately steep road; after the scenic part, we return to the forest and quickly reach a path branching to the right toward the nearby ruins of the castle.
Here we go right (straight to Žusem) and in a minute of further walking, we arrive at the ruins of castle Žusem.
In the vicinity of the castle, there is a greater probability of falling stones.
Description and pictures refer to the condition in January 2025.

Along the route: Vrhovnica (405m)

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