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Sisak Fortress was built following the increasingly threatening and devastating Turkish attacks on the Kingdom of Croatia. The construction works were ordered by the Bishop of Zagreb, the owner of the estate, and lasted from 1544 until 1550.
Having become Bosnian pasha in 1591, Hasan Pasha Predojević launched a few attacks on Sisak. During his last campaign in June 1593, his army of around 12.000 Ottoman soldiers suffered on 22 June 1593 a heavy defeat against the defending joint Croato-Slovene-Austrian forces and he himself lost his life. This battle was a turning point, which meant interruption of further Ottoman conquest.
After slackening of Ottoman pressure on Croatian lands in the 17th century, the fortress changed its owners for a couple of times, being sometimes damaged, but immediately repaired. The last major damage occurred during the Second World War, as the fortification was hit by shells and the northwest tower was partially destroyed.
Present-day fortress houses some collections of the Sisak Town Museum (established in 1951), which include holdings of archaeology, ethnology, cultural history and numismatics.
Sisak Fortress is a triangle-shaped structure, mostly made of brick and supported by stone parts. Each corner of the fortress is reinforced with a round tower covered by conical roof. Towers are connected by the more than 30 metres long thick walls with loopholes. Being on the river bank, the fortress has a natural line of defense from the west-southwest, while the other sides are partially protected by the Sava River in the immediate vicinity, flowing southeast.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.