Blackcraig Castle is a Baronial mansion house close to the towns of Ballintuim and Blairgowrie on the banks of the River Ardle. It was built in 1856 by Patrick Allan Fraser, a prominent Scottish artist and architect, and is designated as a Class B-listed building, with its walled garden A-listed. It has undergone extensive renovations/modernisation in recent years to return it to its full former glory and remains one of the finest examples of Baronial architecture in Scotland.
Surveys suggest that, originally occupying the site of Blackcraig Castle was a 16th-century tower house thought to be the property of the Maxwells’, who were in possession of the barony of Ballmacreuchy by 1550.
The current owners have been renovating Blackcraig and its policies since 2013 with a view to returning it to its former splendour. Two tasteful self-contained holiday apartments have also been incorporated and are available to rent. Although the castle and its policies are private, there are plans to open them to the public for events in the future.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.