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The origin of the former Fala Castle may date back to the 15th century. Oton Der Pergauer ruined the old castle around 1407, but there is no written data on this. The first written record of the old castle however dates back to 1311. The structure and the land was at that time owned by a Benedictine monastery St. Paul’s Abbey from Carinthia. Upon valuation of assets in 1542 the castle was evaluated at 200 pounds and was thus for the first time directly certified.
The building and the Drava blockade, the so called Turkish Wall, which could be closed in times of danger, were fortified by St Paul’s Abbey prior Jakob Pachler in 1550 because of continuous Ottoman attacks. To be able to pay off the money used for fortification, Pachler rented the castle to Luka Szekely of Viltuš for 6 000 florins. The Abbot Vincenc Lechner gave the castle to his brother Niklas, and only Abbot Hieronim (1616-1638) managed to get it back from the Lechner family after a long process. Hieronim appointed a prefect and turned the castle into a monastery. The castle housed monks, people employed at the castle and its lands, as well as professors and clergy studying at the monastery.
Today the castle is furnished in the 17th century style and open to the public.
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.