Maruševec is a castle located in the municipality of the same name within

Varaždin County Varaždin County () is a county in Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Top ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The castle dates back to 1547.

History

Throughout the mid 19th century, again the castle was under numerous hands, until it was bought by Arthur Schlippenbach. He enlarged the castle as it stands today and refurbished it with decor of the period in 1877. In 1881, Count Schlippenbach died in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. In 1883 Maruševec and Čalinec Castle were purchased by Oskar de Pongratz. The Pongratz noble family reconstructed the garden upon the plans of the Swedish architect Carl Gustav Swensson, and made some minor alterations to the building in 1901 such as tapestries on the staircases illustrating hunting scenes, the work of Monnaccelli from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The castle was owned by the Pongratz noble family until 1945. That year the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

was defeated, resulting in the establishment of communist-run Yugoslavia which confiscated most of the former

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Croatian nobility's property. As part of this, Maruševec was nationalized and the Pongratz's emigrated to

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In the 2000s, the government of Croatia began the process of returning the property to the heir of the Pongratz family, count Oskar Pontgratz. It is now in their ownership.Continental tourism

References

Literature

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marusevec Castle Castles in Croatia Buildings and structures in Varaždin County 1547 establishments in Europe Tourist attractions in Varaždin County