List of castles in Croatia

This list of castles in Croatia includes castles, remains (ruins) of castles and other fortifications like fortresses which used to be a castles at some point in history. A castle (from Latin castellum) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe (thus also in Croatia) and the Middle East during the Middle Ages. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence".^[1]

Construction and development of manors and castles on the territory of Croatia can be followed with certainty in the last two millennium – from Roman villa rusticas and palaces (like Diocletian's Palace), to medieval castles (burgs), Renaissance villas-summer houses in Dubrovnik and Dalmatia, to Baroque and historicist manors of Northern Croatia, and town villas and palaces in most bigger Croatian towns. The biggest fortress in Croatia is located in Knin.

Castle	Location	Type	Constructed	Notes	Image
Adamovich-Cseh Castle	Erdut, Osijek-Baranja County	Manor
Badnjevice Castle
Bajnski Dvori Castle	Gornje Ladanje, Varaždin County	Manor	17th century	Founded by the members of Both of Bayna, a noble family of Hungarian ancestry. Enlarged and renewed in the 19th century in the spirit of historicism.
Banfi Manor	Štrigova, Međimurje County	Manor	1373	Founded by the members of Bánffy, a noble family of Hungarian ancestry. Renewed recently .
Batthyány Castle	Ludbreg, Varaždin County		1320
Belaj	Cerovlje, Istria County		14th–17th centuries	Well preserved and renovated
Bežanec Castle				This baroque castle dating from 18th century was renovated during the 1930s in the classic manner and because of that, it has become one of the most representative castles in Croatia.
Bilje Castle
Bribir Castle	Bribir, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County	Castle
Brigido Castle	Lupoglav, Istria County	Castle
Blagaj
Brod Fortress	Slavonski Brod, Brod-Posavina County 45°9′23″N 18°0′24″E		1715–1780
Bubnjarci Manor	Bubnjarci, Ozalj County	Manor	15th century	Founded unknown, but later a noble family of Croatian ancestry.
Califfi Castle	Gornje Selo, Zadar County
Cambi Castle	Kaštel Kambelovac, Split-Dalmatia County
Cetin Castle	Podcetin, Karlovac County 45°08′18″N 15°43′54″E	Castle	14th century
Cippico Castle	Kaštel Novi, Split-Dalmatia County		1512[2]	Built as a fortified summer residence by Pavao Antun Cippico, a nobleman from Trogir.[2]
Čačvina Castle	Čačvina, Split-Dalmatia County		1371[3]
Čakovec Castle	Čakovec, Međimurje County 46°23′20″N 16°25′55″E	Castle	13th century	Built by Count Dimitrius Csáky, after whom the city of Čakovec is named. Later owned by many other noble families, including Lacković, the Counts of Celje, Ernušt, Zrinski, Althan and Feštetić. Outside the biggest fortification in Međimurje County, inside the main palace.
Daruvar Castle	Daruvar, Bjelovar-Bilogora County 45°59′28″N 17°22′36″E
Drivenik Castle	Novi Vinodolski, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County 45°14′17″N 14°38′48″E
Dubovac Castle	Karlovac, Karlovac County
Dvigrad	Draga near Pazin, Istria County
Đurđevac Castle	Đurđevac, Koprivnica-Križevci County 46°02′43″N 17°04′07″E
Falcon Fortress
Eltz Manor	Vukovar, Vukovar-Syrmia County 45°21′27″N 18°59′42″E	Manor	1749–1751
Erdödy Castle, Jastrebarsko	Jastrebarsko
Erdödy castle, Kerestinec	Kerestinec
Erdut Castle	Erdut, Osijek-Baranja County 45°31′36″N 19°03′51″E	Castle	14th century
Feštetić Castle	Pribislavec near Čakovec, Međimurje County		1870[4]	Built by count Juraj Feštetić in neo-gothic style. Today houses the Pribislavec elementary school.[4]
Fortica Fortress	Otočac, Lika-Senj County		1619-~1630
Fortress Kastel	Hrvatska Kostajnica, Sisak-Moslavina County
Fortress Nehaj	Senj, Lika-Senj County	Fortress	1558
Frankopan Castle	Krk, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County	Castle
Glavaš - Dinarić Fortress	Vrlika, Split-Dalmatia County	Fortress	15th century
Gornja Rijeka Castle	Gornja Rijeka, Koprivnica-Križevci County	Castle
Grižane Castle	Grižane-Belgrad, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County	Castle
Grobnik Castle	Grobnik, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County	Castle	10th century	From 1225 belonged to the Krčki (later renamed Frankopan) family and from the 16th century to the Zrinskis.
Gvozdansko Castle
Hreljin Castle
Hvar Fortress
Ilok Castle
Kamerlengo Castle	Trogir, Split-Dalmatia County 43°30′55″N 16°14′51″E	Fortress	Mid-15th century
Kamičak Castle	Krka National Park, Šibenik-Knin County		14th century
Kaštilac	Kaštel Gomilica, Split-Dalmatia County
Klenovnik Castle	Klenovnik, Varaždin County 46°16′22″N 16°4′36″E		13th century	First mentioned in the 13th century during the reign of the Croato-Hungarian king Béla IV; in the late 17th century, king Maksimilijan sold it for 20 000 forint to baron Gašpar I Drašković.
Klis Fortress	Klis, Split-Dalmatia County	Fortress
Knin Fortress		Fortress		During the period of the early Croatian state it was an occasional residence of national rulers (Trpimir, Muncimir, Svetoslav, Držislav, Zvonimir and Petar).
Kožljak	Kršan, Istria County		13th century
Kršan	Kršan, Istria County		11th century
Lapšina Castle
Ledenice Castle
Lovrijenac		Fortress
Lužnica Castle		Manor
Mali Tabor Castle		Castle
Maruševec Castle	Maruševec, Varaždin County
Medvedgrad	Zagreb, City of Zagreb 45°52′11″N 15°56′28″E	Castle	1249–1254[5]	Built on southern hillside of mountain Medvednica as a defense from Tatars, who had pillaged Zagreb in 1242. Severely damaged by earthquake in 1590 and described as a ruin by the late 17th century. Renovated in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[6]
Milengrad	Budinščina municipality, Krapina-Zagorje County		13th century	Built in the Ivanšćica mountain as a defense from Mongols, property of Cseszneky, Herkffy and Patachich families, described as a ruin by the late 17th century. Hungarian name: Milen vára.
Mirabella Fortress (Peovica)	Omiš, Split-Dalmatia County		Early 12th century[3]
Monkodonja
Nečven	Promina, Šibenik-Knin County	Fortress		14th century
Nesactium
Nova Kraljevica
Novigrad Castle	Novigrad, Zadar County
Novigrad na Dobri	Novigrad na Dobri, Karlovac County 45°28′55″N 15°27′10″E	Castle	14th century	This castle once belonged to the famous Croatian family Frankopan, but after the death of its owner, Fran Krsto Frankopan, it was robbed by Austrian general Herbstein. He later sold it to the knights of the catholic Order of Malta who kept it under their rule until 1746. After them, the owners of the castle became the Croatian noble family Patačić and the members of this family lived in the castle until the beginning of 20th century. During the World War II, Novigrad na Dobri was seriously damaged but the enchanting beauty of its ruins still gives proof of its rich history.
Novi Zrin
Nutjak
Obrovac Castle
Okić Fortress	Okić, Samobor, Zagreb County 45.7489218°N 15.7067853°E / 45.7489218; 15.7067853 (Okić Fortress)	Fortress		Medieval Okić Fortress is rare example of preserved Romanesque architecture in continental Croatia. The town was ruled by the counts Okićki, Babonići, Bevenudi, Frankopani, Matijaš Korvin, Ivan Horvat and finally the Erdödy family, in whose time, as early as 1616, the Okić fortress became abandoned and ruined.[7]
Opeka Manor	Vinica, Varaždin County 46°19′30″N 16°08′52″E	Manor
Oršić Castle in Gornja Stubica			1756[citation needed]
Oršić Castle in Gornja Bistra
Oršić Castle in Slavetić
Oršić Castle in Jurketinec
Otočac Castle
Ozalj Castle	Ozalj, Karlovac County 45°36′51″N 15°28′14″E		Mid-16th century[citation needed]	The oldest part of the castle, Zrinski Palace, was built by Nikola Šubić Zrinski ten years before his death at the Battle of Szigetvár. His son Juraj IV Zrinski built the entry tower in 1599. The castle was renewed and repaired by count Theodor Batthyani (died 1813).[8]
Paz	Cerovlje, Istria County		13th–17th centuries
Pazin Castle	Pazin, Istria County		10th century
Pejačević Castle in Našice	Našice, Osijek-Baranja county	Castle	1811–1812
Pejačević Castle in Retfala	Retfala, suburb of Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County	Castle	1796–1801
Pejačević Castle in Virovitica	Virovitica, Virovitica-Podravina County	Castle	1800–1804
Pietrapelosa	Buzet, Istria County	Castle	10th century
Posert Castle	Cerovlje, Istria County	Castle	11th–14th centuries
Prandau-Normann Castle	Valpovo, Osijek-Baranja County 45°39′33″N 18°24′55″E
Potravlje Fortress	Split-Dalmatia County		14th century[3]
Prozor Fortress			Early 15th century[3]	Built by the Hrvatinić family, the fortress was captured by the Turks in 1523. The Turks held the fortress for two centuries, until they were expelled by the Venetians.[3]
Ribnik Castle	Ribnik, Karlovac County	Castle
Ružica Castle	Orahovica, Virovitica-Podravina County
Samobor Castle	Samobor, Zagreb County 45°47′56″N 15°41′53″E
Sinj Fortress
Sisak Fortress	Sisak, Sisak-Moslavina County 45°29′16″N 16°22′26″E	Fortress	1544–1550	Built according to the order of the Bishop of Zagreb, the owner of the estate, following the increasingly threatening and devastating Turkish attacks on the Kingdom of Croatia. Today it houses the local town museum.
Slunj Castle
Sokolac Castle	Brinje, Lika-Senj County
Starigrad Fortress (Fortica)	Omiš, Split-Dalmatia County
Skrad castle	Barilović, Karlovac County
Šarengrad castle	Šarengrad
St. Nicholas Fortress	Šibenik, Šibenik-Knin County	Fortress
St. Michael Fort	Preko, Zadar County 44°04′19″N 15°09′35″E
Šumber	Sveta Nedelja, Istria County		13th–17th centuries
Tkalec Manor	Štrigova, Međimurje County	Manor	18th century
Topana Castle
Trakošćan Castle	Bednja, Varaždin County 46°15′33″N 15°57′00″E	Castle		Drašković family occupied the castle until the early 20th century.[9]
Trsat Castle	Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
Tržan Castle in Modruš
Tvrdalj Castle	Stari Grad, Split-Dalmatia County		16th century[10]	Fortified summer palace of the poet Petar Hektorović
Udbina Castle	Udbina, Lika-Senj County		14th century
Veliki Bukovec Castle	Veliki Bukovec, Varaždin County		1745–1755
Veliki Tabor Castle	Desinić, Krapina-Zagorje County 46°09′17″N 15°39′05″E	Castle	Early 16th century[9]	Perched on top of a hill, at an altitude of 334 m (1,096 ft), the castle had many owners, among them Ratkaj family and Oton Iveković, a Croatian painter. Today it houses several art and antique collections.[9][11]
Vitturi Castle	Kaštel Lukšić, Split-Dalmatia County 43°33′18″N 16°22′05″E
Vrana Castle	Vrana, Zadar County		Early 12th century
Vrgorac Castle
Zadvarje Castle	Split-Dalmatia County		1478–1482[3]
Zajezda Castle
Zichy-Terbocz Manor
Zrin Castle
Zrinski-Frankopan Castle	Severin na Kupi, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County 45°25′17″N 15°10′08″E	Castle	16th century	Castle (palace) with the park in Severin na Kupi was the estate of an aristocrat family Frankopan. The castle was first mentioned in 1558. It is one store building with square ground plan and internal yard and halls with arcades, and outside corner cylindrical towers. There is the part around the castle with a chapel St. Florian. Today's Baroque palace is result of ample reconstruction made in 1803 by owner of that time Count John Oršia.

See also

• List of castles
• Military history of Croatia
• Walls of Dubrovnik
• Walls of Ston

References

Notes

1. Coulson 2003, p. 16.
2. "Kastel Novi". mdc.hr. Museum Documentation Center. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
3. "Castles of Split Dalmatia County". inyourpocket.com. In Your Pocket City Guides. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
4. "Međimurje info – Informativni portal Međimurske županije" (in Croatian). Retrieved Aug 12, 2022.
5. "Contagious Middle Ages". osaarchivum.org. Blinken Open Society Archives. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
6. "Fortress Medvedgrad | Medieval Wall". 21 March 2010.
7. "Stari grad Okić - Samobor". www.samobor.hr (in Croatian). Grad Samobor. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
8. "Ozalj-tz.hr".
9. Oliver, Jeanne (2007). Croatia (4th ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-74104-916-9.
10. Slobodan Prosperov Novak (2006), Hvar: Mjesta, Ljudi, Sudbine [Hvar: Places, People, Destiny] (in Croatian), Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska, ISBN 953-150-752-X
11. "Veliki Tabor". veliki-tabor.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-05-23.

Bibliography

• Coulson, Charles (2003), Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-927363-4

Further reading

• Binney, Marcus (2009). "Castles & Manor Houses of Croatia: Winning or Losing". Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage. pp. 174–193. ISBN 9780711229211.

External links

• Map of Castles and Fortifications of Croatia
• Croatian castles
• Dvorci, kurije i ljetnikovci u Hrvatskoj (in Croatian)
• Croatia – Castles and Manors
• Castle and Fortress Ruins in Zagreb County