Frankopan Castle (Croatia)

On the Kamplin square, opposite the Krk cathedral, near the bishop's palace, is the ancient castle of Frankopan. It was the central line and the defense of the town. It was realized during various construction operations from the 12th to the 18th century. The oldest architectural element of the castle is the square tower - Frankopan's tower and courtyard. It is known that the tower was completed in 1191, as is evidenced by the Latin inscription in the semisolette above the door, which says: (H) oc opus and (st) a (t) i (u) sh (Uius) comunis + a M) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) The work of the entire community + (cross) construction began in the year of our Lord 1191 at the time of John the Bishop of Krk And Bartul and Vid, Duke of Krk).
The explicit inscription mentions the participants and the time of its construction, but there is nothing about its purpose or purpose. The tower stands out from the other architectural components of the castle with the modalities of its construction and the way of building large blocks of carved stone, recalling the nearby Romanesque church of San Quirino. It is precisely for this difference that there is a theory of its possible independent existence in the period prior to the construction of the castle.
Today's Cathedral Belfry of Krk represents a more recent style of the 16th century, which poses the question of the existence and location of the ancient Romanesque bell tower. In Romanesque style, the tower was a necessity, especially when confronting other centenarian diocesans like Rab or Zara, where the bell-tower appeared next to the chains around the 12th and 13th centuries. The polychrome of Santacroce, preserved at the Franciscan monastery on the island of Košljun, San Quirino is holding the city map in his arms, where we can clearly see the castle of Krk and the place of today's Tower - It is a tall structure Like a bell tower. The architectural features of the tower itself speak in favor of this theory. It is made of carved regular stones, with walls reaching almost 2 meters in some places, proving that the structure was destined to be vertical. In addition, there are remains of a religious subject fresco on the ground floor, which indicates its sacred purpose. All this leads to the conclusion that the so-called tower of the courtroom, as it is called today, was actually a bell tower for its original purpose. Through centuries and historical circumstances, its original sacral function has disappeared and has been assimilated into the castle complex as a tower.
The wall connects the south-east tower of the castle, called "Austrian tower", to the remains of the tower above the gate Pizanska Vrata. Considering the technique of construction and some stylistic elements, its construction can be dated to the 14th century.
There are views that the walls surrounding the castle and the upper floor of the tower were built in the Romanesque period because of the shape of the stone consoles, which can still be seen today. This early dating is very controversial, according to our opinion that this part of the wall emerged in the fifteenth century. This construction is characteristic for subsequent periods, so General Contarini was an aspirant for the reconstruction of the castle in 1559, according to the report of the administrator Angelo Gradonica.
The "Venetian" tower on Kamplin has been altered several times. Towards piazzale Kamplin, outside the so-called "Venetian" tower, there is a stone slab with the inscription "Aurea Venetorum Libertati" and the symbol of San Marco. Conical canonical openings can be seen on the ground floor of the "Venetian" tower. Two openings are authentic, and the eastern loop hole, which overlooks the Pizanska Vrata gate, was later built when the main source of the gate, the main entrance of the castle, was walled. The door was built with regular carved stones With an iron pole that was lowered through a groove from the first floor. This construction and the opening and closing mechanism of the door indicate a different and symmetrical shape of the tower than today's. This hypothesis must certainly be scientifically verified through research into the conic roof of the tower that could later contain the walls of the older structure, which probably had a rectilinear pattern.
The castle of Frankopan is the only remaining medieval monument in the city of Krk. The castle was rebuilt, a walk was opened on a part of the wall and a small exhibition of archaeological monuments has been made. Summer cultural events are traditionally found inside the castle walls.