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From a Castle to a Castle

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Tourism programme about beauties of northern Croatia

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Page 1: From a Castle to a Castle

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korice_eng.pdf 2 18.3.2010 21:44:52

Page 2: From a Castle to a Castle

Tourist Board of the City of Varaždin

Tourist Information Centrewww.tourism-varazdin.hr

tel./fax +385 (0)42 210987,

210985, 201005

HR-42 000 Varaždin, I. Padovca 3

The project is supported by Ministry

of Tourism of Republic Croatia and

National Tourism Board.

Publisher: Tourist Board of the City of Varaždin, Tourist Board of Trakošćan – Municipality of BednjaFor the publisher: Branka Tropp, Alen SajkoPhotography: Mario Novak, Miljenko Hegedić (Old Burgh)Texts by: Volga Vukelja Dawe, Marija GrahTranslation and language editting: Volga Vukelja DaweGraphic design: Tanja BunjevacTisak: Zrinski d.d. Čakovec

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The gateways to a dream

Castles are the gateways to a dream. It may be a dream woven into

history, but a dream nevertheless. Walking through their corridors and

halls filled with finery and riches, peeking into the darkest of hidden

dungeons and secret passages, it is so easy to be carried away on a

cloud of imagination to the world of damsels in distress and knights in

shining armour. And it takes but little effort to hear the clash of swords

and the sounds of trumpets, but also the sweet song of the lutes,

and – and then tour is over and we are again on our way to the gateway,

only this time it takes us into reality.

For that is what exists in between castles – reality. People living their

everyday lives: working, building, loving, hoping and yes, from time to

time, dreaming. And that is the journey we would like to take you for.

A bit of this and a bit of that. And a lot of good time.

Page 4: From a Castle to a Castle

In

the north-western

part of the historical core of the city of

Varaždin lies one of its best know picture postcards – the Old Burgh. On the outside it

is an unconquerable medieval fortification, but inside it is an aristocratic palace of the

Renaissance style. The Old Burgh underwent continual expansion between the 13th and the

19th century. In the 16th century the owners, the Ungnadi family, brought in Domenico de

Lalia, an Italian Renaissance builder who carried out restructuring works that turned the

Old Burgh into a “Waserburg”. The entire castle was surrounded by defensive walls, and the

motes bellow them were filled with waters brought in from the nearby River Drava. In the

following centuries the Old Burgh had become an unconquerable bastion of the Kingdom

of Croatia. Protecting its inner sanctum with motes, bulwarks, guns and troops, the

Old Burgh also ensure prosperity as for its owners, so for the city of Varaždin. Of all the

numerous owners the Burgh belonged to through the centuries, the Counts of Erdödy had

the longest tenure, and since they were the heritable governors of the Varaždin County in

1763 their family coat of arms was approved by the Empress Maria Theresa as the official

Page 5: From a Castle to a Castle

The Old Burgh of Varaždin

coat

of arms

of the County.

It has remained so

to this day. In 1923 the City

of Varaždin bought the Burgh and

by 1925 several of its rooms were already housing a

permanent exhibition. Today the Old Burgh houses the City Museum, a must for every

visitor to this charming city. Initially the museum holdings comprised mostly the

objects donated by the prominent families and individuals of Varaždin. With the

passage of time the museum collections grew both in size and variety, and now this is an

institution which consists of six specialized departments: Archaeology, History, Cultural

history, Ethnography, Entomology and the Gallery of Old and Modern Masters. Having

been turned to a lush promenade the medieval bulwarks and motes are now serving

a much more pleasant occupation for the citizens of Varaždin and their guests, but have

still retained their protective role – nowadays protecting from the ever more intruding

traffic and hubbub of daily life.

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Moravec Homestead

Tradition of goat farming

in the Moravec family goes

back some twenty years.

For two generations now

they have been tending

100 white goats of the

Saanen breed. With time the

range of goat milk products at

the OPG Moravec (OPG - Family

Agricultural Homestead) has extended and

now, in addition to milk, includes cheeses:

semi-hard, smoked, with herbs, spreads

with and without spices, feta cheese, curd cheese and yoghurt.

Numerous awards and acknowledgements they have received are the

result of a systematic investment into knowledge, technological

advancement, production capacities and love for the work

they are doing. The Quality Champion for the entire

range of products award wan by the OPG Moravec

at three national competitions speaks loudly

of their quality and success. At this point in

time project documentation is being produced

for the tasting room and the packing facility

within the homestead, where one will be able

to see the entire production process – from the

she-goat to the finished product. The works are

expected to start in the course of 2010.

Bearing in mind that goat milk consists of particles

which are three time smaller than the cow milk, which

makes it much easier to digest, that it is also the most similar

to human milk, it is with justification that both the milk and its products

are called the fountain of health.

Page 9: From a Castle to a Castle

Zelendvor

(the Green

M a n o r ) ,

one of the

oldest organized

hunting grounds

in Croatia, is named

after the manor which Count

Marko Bombelles, a descendant

of the old French nobility, built himself in

Petrijanec near Varaždin. His carefully thought out introduction of numerous

new species - from Asia he imported numerous types of pheasant,

from those of purely decorative nature to the game-type birds,

from America came the Virginia quail - he ensured that

the area retained its position as one of the finest and

best stocked hunting grounds in Croatia.

To this day Zelendvor has remained one of the

best hunting grounds in Croatia. In the centre

of the place is a hunting lodge which provides

accommodation, and close to it a restaurant

where one can savour a variety of hunting

and national specialties and delicacies.

Needles to say the gastronomic emphasis

is on meat of the game reared in natural

environment and grazing on the indigenous

plants. The neighbouring rural households

secure a stable supply of freshly grown vegetables,

fruit and home produced cheeses. It is also good to know

that the operations are conducted in accordance with the

HACCAP system. Located nearby are small exhibition pavilions,

and in the immediate vicinity is an educational hunting trail.

The Green Manor

Page 10: From a Castle to a Castle

Klenovnik

is one of

the largest and most

magnificent castles in Croatia.

This zero category monument is located on a prominent

hill on the southern slopes of Ravna gora. The first mention of the name of Klenovnik

dates from 1244, and through the centuries it has changed quite a few hands.

According to the oldest inscription, located in the castle’s inner court yard – part of which

reveals the owner’s desire to built a home for all time: “Let this home stand until the ant

drinks up the sea and the turtle walks around the world” - this early baroque, four-winged

two-floor building with 90 rooms and 365 windows was started in 1616 by Count Ivan II

Drašković. Another inscription from 1667 tells us that that it was completed in that year

by Ivan IV Drašković. Klenovnik had its heyday during the tenure of Ivan III Drašković as

the Croatian Viceroy (1640 – 1646). He was determined to make the seat of his family and

of the national political power as magnificent and as spacious as possible, and that he was

successful in his effort is proven by the fact that sessions of the Croatian Sabor were held in

one of its large halls. Klenovnik had remained in the possession of the Drašković family for

a long time, and it was only in 1850 that Juraj VI Drašković sold it in order to secure funds

for the expensive reconstruction of Trakošćan.

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Until

1922 the

castle was resold

a number of times when it was

bought by Count Josip Bombelles – the last nobleman

to own it. In 1925 he sold it to the Central Office for the insurance of workers.

The Central Office carried out extensive works which involved restructuring and building

of two extensions to the north-eastern and south-western wings, each 32m long and

10,5 m wide, as well as numerous auxiliary facilities: large kicthen in the cellars and

a large dining hall in the basement. In 1927 the Sanatorium opened its doors, and the

function of the castle has remained the same to this day – it is now known as the Klenovnik

Hospital for lungs diseases and TBC. Thus has the once most prestigious of all the castels

in the north-western Croatia, and a cultural monument of zero category, been turned

into a hospital, which makes this magnificent edifice out of bounds for any viewing.

But in 1963 the parks around the castle was declared a monument of park architecture,

so take stroll through it to get the fell of times gone by…

Klenovnik

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The Gladović gingerbread trade was founded in 1939 by one Martin Gladović from

Klenovnik, and the business has survived in the family, at the same address, for 70 years.

In 1969 Martin was succeeded by his son Ladislav, and in 1981 Ladislav’s wife Slavica took

over. From 2009 the business has been run by their daughter Valentina.

From the very beginnings they were producing honey biscuits, other gingerbread products,

candles, lanterns and mead. Throughout all those seventy years they have been present at

all the parish feasts in the north-western Croatia and also in the neighbouring Slovenia.

Today the Gladović family have set up a Gingerbread House with an exhibition-

cum-shop section where visitors can, guided by Valentina and Slavica, finish

and decorate the semi-finished gingerbread products to their own liking.

The Gingerbread House is a place where all the products of the Gladović family which has

succeeded, despite these aggressive globalising times of ours in preserving their trade and

traditional method of production.

The GladovićGingerbread House

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Lepoglava, a small town nestling at the foot of the mountain of Ivanščica, amidsts the

typical undulating landscape of Hrvatsko zagorje, not far from the orute of two major

European highways: Zagreb – Vienna and Zagreb – Budapest.

In the year 1399 King Sigismund gave the almost devasted old town of Lepoglava to one

of his nobleman whose efforts resulted in the foundation of a monastery of the Hermits of

St. Paul. The White Friars turned their home into a cradle of learning. They founded

the first secular secondary school, the first institution of higher learning with the right

to award academic titles, they promoted science, art, culture, they introduced the skill of

lace making to the people. The single-nave Gothic church of St. Mary (in the 17th century

features of baroque style were added), with its four chappels and a wealth of wall paintings

done by eminent artists, I.K. Ranger being one of them, with beautiful altars adorned

by numerous sculptures and

paintings, it painted choir

seats, is an example of the value

they attributed to art.

The monastery existed for

almost 400 years. Following

the dissolution of the Pauline

order by the Emperor and King

Joseph II part of its wealth

was taken by Vienna, part

by Budim. The monastery

itself was given of the Chapter

of Čazma which, not having the means to maintain it, signed a contract with the

State Treasury which needed a place for a state penitentiary. And that is what

happened: a monastery that used to be the kernel of science, art and education,

became a prison for men, in 1914 the prison was extended, in a 1918 it became the

notorious hellhole for political opponents – the role which continued until 1990.

The monastery was returned to the church in 2001.

Lepoglava

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Lepoglava of today still has a good reason to bless the day the White Friars

came, for the art of bobbin-lace making has not only persisted but has

become a treasured tradition in the villages around the town. The patterns

produced have evolved into the folk motifs, animal and plant life, and other

ornaments. Its beauty is widely recognized, as is the value of this artistic

craft, hence the lessons, workshops and lace-making school. The additional

impetus came forom the International Lace Festival which has been held

in Lepoglava since 1997, whith its regular meetings of experst, and the

publications of works from the eminent lace centres in Croatia and Europe.

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Lepoglava Lace

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Ravna gora is the northernmost mountain massif of Hrvatsko zagorje, its highest peak

reaching 686 m. It is located in the upper basin of the River Bednja, and is regarded as the

final spur of the Southern Alps which streches from east (Trakošćan) to west for 13 km,

gradually getting lower. According to the latest research, the area of the Varaždin County is

regarded as the place where the Alps and the Dinarides come together. It is also the only

karstic mount in the north-west Croatia, replete with karstic features like ravines, gorges

and caves – the most attractive among them being the Velike pećine (Great Caves).

Another aspect which makes it stand apart is its sub-Alpine cave fauna, regarded as

endemic, in contrast to the Dinaridic one that is found in the rest of Croatia. The mountain

is mostly covered by deciduos forests (bay oak, hornbeam, sweet chestnut), while the higher

ground is dominated by beech with some fir. In adition to its caves, this mountain also

offers ample opportunities for other type of excursions which makes it a favourite among

tourists and experienced mountaineers. The activities one can engage in include Alpine

climbing, paragliding (there are two sites for taking off and an organized landing site in

Cvetlin; national and Euroepan campionships are held, mountain biking, trekking, hunting,

mushrooms gathering. Accommodation can be found in two mountain lodges: Pusti duh

(Lonely spirit) at the altitude of 672m, and Ravna gora at 660m. And if we still have not

managed to persuade some to climb to Ravna gora (hush, the top can be reached by car –

and from two sides, just don’t tell anybody!), then perhaps the photograph showing the view

from the top will do the trick.

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Ravna gora & Great caves

The side of Ravna gora facing Bednja and Trakošćan is almost Alpine-like, which is not

surprising since the massif is regarded as the last spur of the Alps. The most attractive rocks

on Ravna gora are Velike pećine (Great caves), locally known as the Švecove pećine (named

after the hamlet of Šveci located right beneath the rocks), and they can be found in its

north-westernmost reaches, rising over the village of Cvetlin. They are lined one after the

other in six rows and rise to the height of about 100 m. The people living in the neighbourhood

have always been drawn to Velike pećine, but at the same time in awe of them. Records exist

which tell us that on 12 September 1834 the Sveciana cave caught fire and it burned for a

fortnight belching fire across the mount. Large stones and flaming tree roots were flying

through the air, and the noise and hissing could be heard half an hour’s walk away. In order

to stop the caves coming awake in such a dramatic manner ever again, a cross was mounted

on the site and consecrated on 29 October 1867, and the ceremony was accompanied by a

great popular festivity.

As for the event itself, to this day nobody knows what really happened, but the caves never

did awake again…

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The rural homestead Bubnjar-Laperski is located in Cvetlin, an evironment typical of

Zagorje, about 4,5 km from Trakošćan. The homestead offers home food and accommodation.

Its service is geared towards serving family lunches for the weekend visitors to Trakošćan,

and dishes on offer include meat from a pot, home-made cured meat products, sausages,

chopped fat, forester's goulash, home made Zagorje štrukli, a variety of home brewed

brandies and home made wine.

The homestead has 10 beds and dining room able to seat 30 people.

The rural homestead Bubnjar-Laperski

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In the immediate vicinity of Podsečki ethno-enviropnment is the small River

Bednja, and in one of its backwaters a colony of beavers found its home.

Beaver (Castor Fiber L.), a large herbivore (20-30 kg), and the largest rodent

(up to 100 cm) of the northern hemisphere, higly adapted to semi-aquatic life, with

streamlined body, webbed feet and a flat, scaly tail (up to 30 cm) to slap the surface as a loud

alarm signal. The glands at the base of the tail produce an oily, waterproofing secretion that

is spread throughout the fur when grooming. They live in closed, hierarchical family units

consisting of an adult pair (for up to 21 years) and the offspring of up to several previous

years; they have one litter each year. Using their incisor teeth, beavers cut down trees for

food and for building dams across streams to impouind water and create ponds. They build

conical lodges in the ponds with access to the living chambers through an underwater

tunnel. When underwater (15-20 min at the most) its ears and nose shut with a valve-like

flaps and the lips close behind the incisor teeth, which can then be used for nibbling and

gnawing. The eyes have a third, transparent eyelid which alows it to see below the surface.

Its long whiskers feel the way in the dark. In Croatia the indigenous species has been hunted

out some hundred years for its fur and fat, which was believed to have medicinal properties.

In 1997 it has been reintroduced to the Croatian waters, and with significant success.

So should you spot the trail, or hear a slap in the water, stay still and you my see

its Majesty, the Beaver.

Its Majesty

Page 24: From a Castle to a Castle
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Dictionary tells us that water is a colourless, transparent, tasteless and odourless liquid

which forms the seas, lakes, rivers and rain. True, it is all of that. But when sitting on a

beach watching the vast calm surface, marvelling at the soft whisper of tiny ripples

reaching the shore and soaking in the salty intoxicating flavour, when standing on the

bank of a river listening to the roar of a mighty river tumbling along and cascading over

barriers into breath-catching waterfalls, when walking along a small stream enjoying its

gurgling, murmuring, splashing, silvery way to a river, a lake, a sea - we hear, see, feel not

a colourless, transparent, tasteless and odourless liquid but life itself in all its richness.

And yet, though knowing that without water there can be no life, so many in this world take

this treasure of all treasures for granted. Instead of regarding it almost with reverence,

demonstrating our appreciation by preserving every precious drop, we waste, pollute and

abuse it in every possible way. Bearing that in mind, we are proud to be able to say that in

this country there are still many streams and rivers from which one can safely take a drink

of fresh water. The area of Bednja, which abounds in water, is one such place.

Flows and flows, a waterfall flows.

What matters in it this tiny drop of mine?

But look, a rainbow to the water is born,

See how it sparkles and shimmers in myriad shades.

This dream to shine in these waters fine,

Its weave to twill it needs this tiny drop of mine.

Dobriša Cesarić

Treasure called water

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The MravlinčićEthnographic Collection

The ethnographic collection of the Mravlinčić family is located in Šinkovica Šaška, in the

immediate vicinity of Trakošćan, and contain items used in households in the first half

of the 20th century. The majority of exhibits belonged to the family itself, while the rest

they have been collecting since the beginning of 1970-ties to this day. The collection,

which comprises items of clothing, dishes, furniture, tools, machines and other items –

all together some 80 exhibits, is housed in an authentic setting of a family house built

at the end of the 20ties of the last century.

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Trakošćan

Sitting proud upon its hill, like a phantasy, facing its reflection in the surface of its very

own, private lake, this is indeed a castle that takes us straight into a fairy tale. And

it this incredible setting that makes one reluctant to come back to reality and look into

the history of this site – which is itself quite something. The continuity of life here goes

back to 1334, and through the centuries it has changed quite a few hands. Finaly, it was

inherited by count Juraj VI Drašković who decided to build himself a summer residence

on the remains of the old Trakošćan fortification. The works lastred from 1840

to 1862, and the result was a stunning neo-gothical castle above a specialy

created lake and surrounded by the English type of a romantic park-wood.

Today, this is the best preserved castle in Croatia, which would not be the case

were it not for the efforts of one Vilim Leskošek. Many called him the good spirit

of Trakošćan, for it was his dedication which made sure that Trakošćan has not

suffered the fate of many castle, manor house and curias of Hrvatsko zagorje. Walking

through the halls furnished with Renaissance, baroque, roccoco and neo-classicistic

pieces, with stoves and mirrors, a visitor is able to reconstruct a whole world gone

by. Paintings of the Drašković family members, the collection of portraits done by

Mihael Stroj, an excellent painter of neoclassicism, the painting of Countess Julijana,

and many other works of art speak of the links of the local nobility with

Vienna and other centres of culture of the time. Swords, halberds, spears and

shields talk of an honourable defence of the identity of a people in troubled

times, but are also a symbol of the rebellious mood of the nearby villagers.

Forests, hills, vinyards, modest but welcoming houses, are scenes that warm the heart.

Yes, there is much to be seen in and around Trakošćan, the emphasis being of the word

“seen”, not read about. Because there is no word that can depict the charm of the place.

As they say, you have to see it to believe it.

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Tourist Board of the City of Varaždin, +385(0)42 210 987 ..........................................................www.tourism-varazdin.hr [email protected] Museum of Varaždin, +385(0)42 658 773, www.gmv.hr [email protected] of tourist guides and comapnions of Varaždin, +385(0)99 444 3838, [email protected] - rent-a-bike, Varaždin, +385(0)98 1345 042, www.hiawatha.hr [email protected], Petrijanec, +385(0)42 209 944, www.zelendvor.hr [email protected] .......................Moravec Family Homestead, Petrijanec, 042/716-041, www.opgmoravec.110mb.com [email protected] & Pansion Orion, Klenovnik, Horvatsko, +385(0)42 770 650 ..................................ww.restoran-orion.hr [email protected]

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Candlemaking and gingerbread trade Gladović Slavica, Klenovnik ..................................+385(0)42 763 418, [email protected] Lepoglava lacemaking trade – Štefanek +385(0)42 791 418, [email protected] ...................Ravna gora / Great Caves ..............................................................................................................Rural homestead Bubnjar-Laperski ..........................................................................................Jazbina Cvetlinska 133, Trakošćan, +385(42) 705 051 Podsečki ethno-enviropnment, Rinkovec 44a, +385(0)42 792 293 .......................................Mravlinčić Ethnographic Collection, Šinkovica Šaška 34, Trakošćan ...................................+385(0)91 8848 847, [email protected] Board of Trakošćan – Municipality of Bednja, +385(0)42 796 309 .....................info.bednja.hr, [email protected]šćan Castle +385(0)42 796 281, www.trakoscan.hr, [email protected]

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