Just an hour away from Zagreb, in the very vicinity of Karlovac city, there is a town that seems like a scene for some old movie and that town’s name is Ozalj.
A town and a fortress, surrounded by beautiful nature and calming peace….what more can you ask for when looking for a quality city-break?
The old town of Ozalj is genuinely architecturally diverse. It was built and upgraded in different epochs, each of which marked this unusually valuable building.
The start of the stone construction of the Old Town begins somewhere in the 6th century, which is confirmed by many remains of ancient Roman walls. However, the beginning of today’s castle construction dates back to the 13th century. Since then it has been owned by King, then by the families of Babonić, Frankopan, Zrinski, Perlas, Batthyanya, Thurn, and Taxis, who in 1928 donated the gifts of “Brothers of Croatian Dragons” – today’s owners.
In the old town, you enter a wooden bridge. The central column that carries the bridge is actually the former warehouse tower, which defended the city with the archers. The column is architecturally fascinating because the lower part is constructed by the triangle while the upper part is quadruple.
Next complex consists of the entrance tower (built in 1599 by Juraj IV Zrinski), the smaller tower on the left of the entrance tower, the central tower, Babonić’s tower and Zrinski Palace, chosen by the Zrinski family for their home. In the 18th century, it was restored and turned into a beautiful castle.
Just in this historic building lived and worked Nikola, Petar, Katarina Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan, as well as influential personalities who overwhelmed the character and culture of the politics of Croatia and Austria during that era.
On the ground floor of Palace, there is a lobby and bedroom with the remains of fireplaces and valuable wall frescoes of religious content that are rarely found in the secular rooms of feudal courts. On the walls, their decorations with Glagolitic and Latin inscriptions.
