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The old castle of Kolovec, also known as Gerlochstein, was probably built as early as the 12th century and is first mentioned in 1282. Its name derives from the German roots Ger- (spear) and -loch- (forest), while the Slovenian name Kolovec appears only in 1584. The castle stood on a ridge above Rovščica near the village of Rova in the municipality of Domžale, where today only modest ruins remain.

In the 14th century the castle was administered by the Kolovec knights, ministerials of the Andechs dynasty and later of the Spanheim and ducal lords. Sources mention figures such as Usuinus, Gerlacus, Bertold and Nicolaus von Gerlochsteine (1315), Tibold and Federicus de Gherlostayn (1321–1328), and Asquin de Gerlochstain (1335). After the death of Andrej Kolovški in 1444 the family died out, and the castle passed into the hands of the Hohenwart nobles, who rebuilt it. Over time the castle became unsuitable for living, being damp and outdated, and during the Baroque period the nobility preferred to build manor houses in the valley, leaving the old hilltop castles to decay.

As with many other Slovenian castles, the stones from Kolovec’s walls gradually disappeared—locals reused them in the 18th and 19th centuries as building material for houses, farm structures, and paths in the surrounding area. Thus the castle lost its form until only fragments of walls remained, now overgrown by nature. The access paths that once led to the castle are today covered with forest and thickets, further emphasizing the sense of abandonment and transience.

Kolovec Castle also gained a special place in Slovenian literature. Josip Jurčič and Janko Kersnik set the events of their novel Rokovnjači (published between 1881 and 1884) in the surroundings of Kolovec. In the novel the castle appears as a backdrop for the story of the rokovnjači, a band of brigands who terrorized the forests of central Slovenia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jurčič and Kersnik used the castle as a symbol of decaying feudal power, intertwined with folk tales of the brigands.

A particularly valuable testimony is Valvasor’s depiction of Kolovec Castle in his Topographia Ducatus Carnioliae modernae (1679), where he presented it as a ruin. Valvasor reflected on the origin of the name Kolovec, linking it to kolovoz (cart track) or kolar (wheelwright). He noted that the castle was already in ruins in the 15th century but later rebuilt, and added the remark that it was a pity the castle had been abandoned, since its position would have made it an excellent fortress. Scholars have also suggested that the castle may have been built over an earlier Roman fortification, as its strategic ridge location is typical of Roman defensive posts.

Today Kolovec Castle is listed in the Register of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia as an immovable monument of local importance. Although only a few walls remain, its history, literary associations, and Valvasor’s depiction testify to a rich past. Visiting the ruins is a walk into history, where legend, fiction, and reality meet, while the overgrown paths give the impression that the castle has been reclaimed by nature. The old castle of Kolovec thus stands as a symbol of the transience of feudal power, of folk memory, and of cultural heritage, further elevated into Slovenian cultural consciousness through literature and Valvasor’s vision.