User Reviews
Ig Castle, also Sonnegg Castle or Zonek Castle, was first mentioned as hof Ig in 1369, when the noble house of Schnitzenbaum rebuilt an old estate building called Iški turn or Turnek as a defensive tower. In the late 15th century it was again rebuilt into a small manor and in 1510 sold to the house of Auersperg, which in 1581 sold it to the nobleman Johann Engelshauser. In 1717, Pope Clement XI authorized the opening of a private oratory at the castle. In 1805, the castle was inherited by a relative of the counts Engelshauser, Count Wilhelm Weikhard Auersperg.
The castle was the target of peasant revolts in 1515 and 1848, and was besieged by the Turks in 1528. During World War II, it served as an outpost for Italian carabinieri and Slovene Village Guard forces. In 1944, it was attacked and burned down by Partisans. After the war, it was repaired and converted into a women's prison. It is not currently 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.