Comical Croatia! One of the most beautiful European countries that offer a large variety of landscapes like so many fairy tales that rise majestically to overlook valleys and towns. It has become a top hotspot for tourists to visit where many have been restored and offer visitors a chance to glimpse noble life from centuries past. Some of the castles have been converted into luxury hotels and high-end restaurants. Many tourists would have thought that all the castles in Croatia would look alike, but that is not true. You can experience each with their own unique and fascinating history. Here we go with the 10 best castles in Croatia.
List of 10 Best Castles in Croatia:
- Trakošćan Castle
- Pazin Castle
- Trsat Castle
- Veliki Tabor Castle
- Stara Sušica Castle
- Klis Fortress Castle
- Ozalj Castle
- Dubrovnik Castle
- Tvrdalj Castle
- Korcula Castle
1. Trakošćan Castle
Trakošćan Castle is a real gem that is worth visiting on your Croatia tour packages. Your trip will be incomplete without visiting this castle while you are heading to Croatia. It is one of the best romantic places you have ever seen with its beautiful, surreal, fairy tale look. This castle is located 23 km northeast of Krapina and 40 km southwest of Varaždin which was built in the late 13th century.
To enjoy the castle tour with the surrounding ground and lake, you need to have plenty of time. Inside the castle, you get to explore the ancient artefacts that are displayed, collections of original weapons that were once used in battles, a collection of over 200 oil paintings and prints. Take a walk to St Cross Chapel to admire the contrasting simplicity of the forest park and a small chapel.
2. Pazin Castle
Pazin Castle is the perfect place to explore many things where you will find a diversified road and path network that leads to some hidden nooks. In this castle, you can visit two museums on the ground floor, the first floor, and the second floor. Containing 7500 ethnographic artefacts of textile, agricultural tools, and objects of everyday life in Istrian villages in the past century. There is a large collection of souvenirs on all three floors. You will see the permanent exhibition of an ethnographic museum of Istria, the collection of 23 church bells, the traditional wood and metalwork, displays of prehistoric, antique, and early medieval archaeological pottery, and a souvenir shop where you can buy Istrian souvenirs, literature about Istria.
3. Trsat Castle
Trsat Castle is a historical monument, a recreation area with a pilgrimage site all at once. It is present on the hill 138 meters above sea level dominating Rijeka. The Trsat castle offers a magnificent view of the whole area of Rijeka’s Old City.
Now the castle is enriched by new facilities and events like open-air summer concerts, fashion shows, theatre performances, literary evenings, and visual arts galleries. The other best destination in Trsat is “The Church of Our Lady”, the most important pilgrimage site in Croatia that is attracting more than 3,00,000 visitors every year. Don’t forget to visit the Church when you are in Trsat along with the Castle.
4. Veliki Tabor Castle
Veliki Tabor Castle is one of the most breathtaking fortresses in Croatia. This castle-come museum is haunted by legends of forbidden love that are linked to Veronika of Desinić. Once the Veliki Tabor was ruled by Count Herman II of Celje, where his son loved a local girl called Veronika, the count did not accept their love so the lovers escaped to Slovenia and married in secret. Later the father found out about their marriage and kept his son in prison, but Veronika escaped and was caught near Veliki Tabor.
Many say that her body was built in Castle walls where the visitors feel Veronika’s cry and wail all over the hills especially on cold winter long nights. If you are a great movie lover, don’t miss out on the international short film festival in Veliki Tabor in July.
5. Stara Sušica Castle
Stara Sušica Castle is located 800 metres above sea level surrounded by diverse flora and fauna. This castle provides an outstanding opportunity for hosting conferences and events. Moreover, it provides a service for young people from all over Croatia on various school programs such as camps, winter vacations, summer vacations, and children’s resorts.
6. Klis Fortress Castle
Klis Fortress Castle is the perfect destination for all generations of visitors and is mostly visited by domestic tourists. At present, the popularity has grown immensely with a new historical, cultural, and tourist attraction was rebuilt on Klis Fortress. The famous web series “Game of Thrones” was shooted in the castle in its season 4. The reason for the increased number of visitors to this castle is due to the exhibitions, tournaments, and photo-taking sessions.
7. Ozalj Castle
Ozalj Castle is a very old castle that was built in 1244 in the town of Ozalj, Croatia that is located on the stone cliff perched above the Kupa River. This castle is famous for the joint of the Croatian noble families of Frankopan and Zrinski which significantly marked the history of Croatia. The best place to take the perfect panoramic view from the top of the castle.
8. Dubrovnik Castle
Dubrovnik Castle is often called Lawrence Fortress or Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar that is situated 37 metres above sea level. You can see from the above picture that the castle is overshadowed by the city, from the sea and land. The layout of the fort is called Lovrijenac which has a triangular shape with three terraces. Many films and web series were filmed in this castle such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Knightfall.
9. Tvrdalj Castle
Tvrdalj Castle is the world heritage site of Europe which is a combination of intimate residence and castle in an amazing renaissance building. Inside the courtyard, you would see the seawater fish pool surrounded by a vaulted terrace, the stunning garden, and some interesting carved inscriptions in the house. It was like an oasis so don’t forget to bring your camera to take poetic pictures from the castle.
10. Korcula Castle
Korcula Castle is a historic fortified place that is located on the east coast of the island of Korčula, in Croatia. This castle is constructed in a herringbone pattern allowing free circulation of air but protecting against strong winds. It is generally used for a cultural dance performance only on special occasions wherein modern times there are performances twice a week for tourists.
I hope this article will help you out to find the uniqueness of the 10 best castles in Croatia. Don’t forget to enrich your knowledge of history and culture while you are heading to the castles of Croatia. Check out the Croatia tours packages from India where you can find the best castles from entire Europe. Also, visit the Pickyourtrail website for all the international packages and you can even customise your itinerary as per your likes and preferences.
HAPPY EXPLORING! 🙂
