Ozalj Castle (Croatia)

The old town of Ozalj is truly architecturally diverse. They were built and upgraded in different epochs, each of which gave their mark to this unusually valuable building.
The beginning of the stone construction of the Old Town begins somewhere in the 6th century, which confirms the many remains of ancient Roman walls. However, the beginning of today's castle construction dates back to the 13th century. Since 1244 he has been in possession of the king, then the families of Babonić, Frankopan, Zrinski, Perlas, Batthyanya, and Thurn and Taxis, who in 1928 donated gifts to the "Croatian Brothers of Dragons" - today's owners.

In the old town you enter the wooden bridge which until 1821 was moved. The middle column that carries the bridge is actually the former tower of the guardhouse, which used to defend the city opkope with the archers' openings. The column is architecturally very interesting as the lower part is constructed on the basis of the triangle while the upper part is quadruple.

The bridge enters the complex which consists of an entrance tower (built in 1599 by Juraj IV Zrinski), a smaller tower on the left side of the entrance tower, the main tower-tower, the Babonić tower (which is also the oldest part of the complex), the southern , the eastern and northern wings (all three wings are large 2-storey buildings) and Palas Zrinskih, chosen by the Zrinski family for their home. In the XVIII century Ozalj was restored and turned into a beautiful castle. R. Perlas was thoroughly demolished by the ruined Old Town, and Teodor Batthyany added the second floor of the northern wing and built a new Baroque tract. Former Palas, long believed to be the oldest building of the existing complex, was converted into a grain warehouse, and since then it has been called "Žitnica"