Blagaj Castle
Blagaj | |
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Babonići | |
Materials | Limestone |
Blagaj (pronounced
Geography
The castle shares its name with several others in the
Blagaj is a castle of the Kordun region, a low karst plateau. The Korana river cuts through the Kordun, flowing from its source at the beginning of the Plitvice lakes to its confluence with the river Kupa.Several notable ruins of other objects lie in the vicinity of the ruined castle. An hour's walk in the direction of Veljun on the Korana is the church of Sv. Ivan. Also nearby are the ruins of the castle (mentioned in 1500) and parish church (mentioned 1334, 1501) of Stojmerić, over the hill to the east. On the left bank of the Korana, opposite the castle, are the remains of the parish church of Sv. Kuzma i Damjan in Hrapavci (mentioned 1334, 1501). The Turks destroyed all these older churches in their invasions.[2]
The ruins can be difficult to find, but they are open to the public.[3] The surrounding region is completely free of landmines, according to the interactive map on the website of the Croatian Mine Action Centre, as accessed July 2017.
History
At the time of the first mention of Blagaj, it was owned by the Babonić family, who presumably built it, naming it after
After this, there is no information on the castle of Blagaj, nor on its dependents, Stojmerić, and Hrapavci around Kuzma (mentioned 1273 as a possession of Stijepan and Radoslav), until the 15th century. In Blagaj, the new parish of Sv. Duh was formed, which survived the Turkish raids until at least 1574. The lords of Blagaj lived mostly in
The Blagaj family fought unusually long against the Turks. In 1563, the regional general wrote that lord Franjo Blagaj guarded his castle "Turanj" on the Korana in person, and in 1572, a permanent guard was approved for his domain. In 1574, Franjo Blagaj and Nikola Frankopan complained to the general that the soldiers sent were pillaging, and so the general gave Blagaj and Bosiljevo castle the right to resist the soldiers. In 1576, Kapidži ban invaded the Korana with a force 2000 strong and carried off 170 people from around Blagaj-Turanj and Skrad in the winter, and both strongholds were destroyed in the battles. In 1582, the general planned for the rebuilding of Blagaj, but because of the attack of Hasan paša in 1584, the castle remained deserted.[2]
Stijepan Blagaj had already fled to
The Blagajs had received permission to return to their possessions should they be recaptured, and when after the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 the castle was repaired for military purposes, Eberhard Blagaj came from Carniola to Croatia and cared for those possessions in the time of king Leopold of Austria. However, the house of Blagaj never fully returned from Carniola, even after selling their Kočevje estates in 1619 and buying Boštanj (Weissenstein) castle near Grosuplje (which they held until the end of the 19th century when the male line died out).
By the year 1700, the square tower in the centre of the castle was only half the height.[4] Soldiers were stationed in the ruins of Blagaj until 1865, but after that, it was left to fall apart.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Home". gps-coordinates.net.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lopašić, Radoslav (1895). Oko Kupe i Korane [Around the Kupa and the Korana] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska. pp. 51–58.
- ^ Lako, Udruga (18 June 2016). "Blagaj". lako.com.hr. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ^ "O Hrvatskom Blagaju". hrvatskiblagaj.weebly.com. Weebly. 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
Za glavno branilište služila je četverouglasta kula koja se nalzila u sredini grada, ali je već 1700. godine bila do polovice razrušena.