Valvasor was born in the town of
Ljubljana (Laibach), at the time the principal city of
Duchy of Carniola, today the capital of Slovenia, to an aristocratic family originally from
Bergamo,
Italy. In the 16th century, it was Johann Baptist Valvasor who moved the Valvasor family to the Duchy of Carniola in central Europe, to a part of the
Habsburg monarchy that is now part of Slovenia. In medieval Latin
Valvasor or
Valvasore held the meaning 'carrier of a feud'. Neither the exact day nor the actual place of Valvasor's birth are known, but his baptism was registered at
Ljubljana Cathedral, where he was baptized
Joannes Waichardus Valvasor. He was the twelfth child born to Bartholomäus and Anna Maria Freiin von Rauber, who only lived at
Medija Castle in
Izlake but also had a town residence in Ljubljana at
Old Square. His godparents were Freiherr (Baron) Konrad Ruess von Ruessenstein from
Strmol Castle and Regina Dorothea Rasp from
Krumperk Castle. Valvasor's father died when the boy was ten years old. His mother died when he was 16. At the time he was attending the
Jesuit school in Ljubljana. Graduating in 1659 at the age of seventeen, he did not choose to continue his studies at a university but decided to broaden his horizons by meeting learned men on a journey across Europe. This journey lasted fourteen years and it even took him to
northern Africa. During this period, he joined the army in the
Austro-Turkish War, where he became closely acquainted with the conditions on the
Croatian Military Frontier. Shortly after marrying 13-year-old Anna Rosina Grafenweger in 1672, Valvasor acquired
Bogenšperk Castle near
Litija, where he arranged a writing, drawing and printing workshop. Valvasor spent a fortune on the publishing of his books; towards the end of his life, his debts forced him to sell Bogenšperk Castle, his vast library and his collection of prints. In 1690, Aleksandar Ignacije Mikulić, the
Bishop of Zagreb, bought his library, along with some 7,300 graphics, and moved it to Slavonia, where the collection became part of the library of the Zagreb Archbishopric, now part of the
Croatian State Archives. In 1692, he lost most of his wealth after he invested in travel, graphics and printbooks which proved unprofitable. He had nine children, among them daughters Maria Sidonia, Maximilla Kordula, Johanna Rosina, and Anna Theresia, and sons Wolfang Waikhard, Johann Gottlieb, Johann Ludwig, Johann Wolfgang Engelbert, and Franz Joseph. Five children died very early, and then, when delivering their last child in 1687, Anna Maria Rosina died as well. Just three months after her death, Valvasor married Baroness Anna Maximilla Zetschker of Vrhovo. They had four children. In 1693, the same year that their last child, Franz Engelbert, was baptized, Valvasor died at age 52 in
Krško. He is believed to have been buried in the family crypt at
Medija Castle, but this is uncertain. and no trace of his putative grave remains today. ==Legacy==