Ozalj Castle ( or ''Gradina Ozalj'') is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the town of

Ozalj Ozalj is a town in central Croatia, located north of Karlovac and southwest of Jastrebarsko, on the Kupa River. It is close to Žumberak/Gorjanci, Žumberak in the north and the border with Slovenia in the northwest, with Metlika being the close ...

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 ...

Description

The Ozalj fortress, located on the stone cliff perched above the

Kupa The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from in Roman Empire, Roman times; ) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with a length of serving as the border between Croati ...

River, is one of the best-known fortifications of this type in Croatia. It is a very old stronghold (first mentioned in 1244) that has been converted into a castle. The popularity of this castle is because this was the joint castle of the Croatian noble families of

Frankopan The House of Frankopan (, , , ) was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary. The Frankopans, along with the Zrinskis, are among the mos ...

and

Zrinski The House of Zrinski or Zrínyi was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union wit ...

. In fact, it was the scene of the ill-fated

Zrinski–Frankopan conspiracy The Magnate conspiracy (also known as the Zrinski–Frankopan Conspiracy () in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy () in Hungary was a plot among Croatian and Hungarian nobles to oust the Habsburg Monarchy from Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), C ...

, which significantly marked the

history of Croatia At the time of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the ...

. In the castle there is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, and it is in a relatively good state of repair.

History

Ozalj was mentioned on 22 February 1481 in a document freeing the citizens of Grič from tariffs in Ozalj and elsewhere. At the Slavonian Sabor of June 1579 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, the dange of leaving the river crossings at

Sveti Jakov Sveti Jakov () is a village on the Croatian island of Lošinj, in Primorje-Gorski Kotar. Administratively, it is part of the town of Mali Lošinj Mali Lošinj is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, on the island of Lošinj, in weste ...

, Luka and Rečica unguarded was noted, so for their fortification the Sabor allocated workers from the feudal estates of Ozalj,

Jastrebarsko Jastrebarsko (; ), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. History Antiquity In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area. Further ar ...

, Steničnjak, Završje, Slavetić, Turanj ( Sveta Jana) and Kaptol Zagrebački. During the fortification of

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

in 1588, Dubovac was part of its supply chain, being counted together with Dubovac, Novigrad,

Bosiljevo Bosiljevo is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is located in the Gorski Kotar region, 25 km south-west from Karlovac, on the highways A1 and A6 leading to Zagreb, Rijeka and Split. Settlements The total popula ...

and Ribnik. Ozalj owed the same as all of these four. Each owed 6 carts of timber, and although there were complaints about the conduct of the soldiers stationed in Karlovac, the order was complied with. For the fortification of

Ivanić Ivanić ( sr-Cyrl, Иванић, ) is a Croatian and Serbian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Delfa Ivanić (1881–1972), Serbian painter, humanitarian and writer * Dragutin Ivanić, Croatian pilot * Dušan Ivanić (born 1946), ...

line in 1598, Ozalj had to supply 25 labourers. In 1605, General Veit Khisl had to defend some of his Karlovac-based

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

soldiers regarding an incident that occurred in 1603. He and his men were headed for the war against the Turks, and they paid for drinks from a widow in a nearby village. One of the soldiers ended up cursing at a woman, at which the widow protested with such force that up to 100 villagers attacked the soldiers, killing two and detaining many others. General Khisl protested the incident to the administrator of the Ozalj estate, Petar Baljardić, who promised recompense, but the soldiers never received it. Since

Nikola Zrinski Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulg ...

's men would not come to the Military Tribunal in Karlovac, Khisl asked Austrian Archduke Ferdinand II to compel them to.

Gallery

File:Schloss Ozalj0009.JPG, Entrance to the castle. File:Ozalj Castle.jpg, Castle from across

river. File:OZALJ (3).jpg, Renovated castle wing and inner courtyard

References

* Castles in Croatia Museums in Croatia Frankopan family Zrinski family Buildings and structures in Karlovac County Tourist attractions in Karlovac County Castle museums Local museums in Croatia {{Croatia-castle-stub

Description

History

Gallery

See also

References