The moated Kirchhausen castle was built between 1570 and 1576 by order of Heinrich von Bogenhausen (Teutonic Order). He replaced the old castle that was built by Thomas Knoll from Weinsberg, whose stone cutter’s mark is still visible today in the keystone of the archway.
Today, the moat around the castle is no longer filled with water. A stone bridge leads the way into the castle courtyard, which took over the former wooden draw bridge. To the left and right of the gateway construction there are arrow slits decorated as lion heads. The two towers served as a means of defence, then as straw stores, bull pens or cubicles for travelling tradesmen. The deanery is the oldest part of the castle.
In the last century the building has been used as a school house and town hall. It was renovated in 1965. Today it is the home of the Resident’s Registration Office of Kirchhausen.A castle festival takes place every two years. The castle can be visited during the Resident’s Registration Office opening hours.
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.