The Frankopan noble family used Kraljevica as the harbour for their town of Hreljin. The castle is on the hill of a peninsula, at the very entrance of the Bay of Bakar. Petar Zrinski began to build it in 1651. As the residence of a powerful feudal dynasty, it followed the then architectural style of aristocrats. The builders, most likely Venetians, arranged the large rectangular complex (44 metres long and 36 metres wide) with four large towers situated at the corners. The square inner courtyard has a cistern in the centre.
The castle originally consisted of a basement, ground floor and first floor, whilst later the owners, Jesuits, in the 19th century added a second floor. The luxurious feel to the interior was probably taken care of by Katarina Frankopan, the wife of Petar Zrinski. The main salon was decorated with gilded leather wallpaper with marble fireplaces, floors paved with a marble mosaic, whilst the frames of the doors were made of black and white marble. On one of the paintings from the 17th century it is visible that the castle also had a special room called the Museum, intended for the storing the family’s rich heritage. At that time it was one of the earliest museums in Croatia. Such collections, also known as cabinets of wonder, as the forerunners of museums appeared in the castles of affluent people throughout Europe. Genius loci, the spirit of a family museum in a castle, is re-awakened in the layout of this visitor’s centre.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.