Ilok Castle ( hr, Iločki dvorac or ''Gradina Ilok'') or Odescalchi Castle overlooks the town of

Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The pop ...

in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is built on a hill above the town centre, offering views on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and the Pannonian Plain. The castle was originally built in the 15th century by

Nicholas of Ilok Nicholas of Ilok ( Hungarian: ''Újlaki Miklós'', Bosnian and Croatian: ''Nikola Iločki'', ; 1410–1477) was a Hungarian nobleman, Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia and Macsó, Voivode of Transylvania and titular King of Bosnia from 1471 ...

, Croatian viceroy and the king of Bosnia. The Ottomans conquered Ilok in the 16th century. After the victory against the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Emperor Leopold I granted the castle, significant properties and the title of the Duke of Syrmia to

Livio Odescalchi Livio Odescalchi (March 10, 1652 - September 8, 1713), Duke of Bracciano, Ceri and Sirmium, was an Italian nobleman of the Odescalchi family. Livio Odescalchi was born in Rome in 1655, the son of Carlo Odescalchi (1607-1673) and Beatrice Cusan ...

, nephew of Pope Innocent XI and a member of the powerful Italian aristocratic Odescalchi family, which would own the castle for the next two centuries. In the 18th century, the Odescalchis reconstructed the castle in the Baroque style. The castle was nationalized by authorities of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1945. After a restoration, it was opened to visitors in 2010. The lower two floors host the Museum of the Town of Ilok. Wine cellars of the castle are among the most famous in Croatia.

References

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Ilok Castles in Croatia Buildings and structures in Vukovar-Syrmia County {{Croatia-castle-stub