Pazin Castle, Pazin, Croatia

Pazin Castle is built on a solid rock situated in the middle of the town of Pazin, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is the largest and best-preserved castle in that westernmost Croatian county. The fortified structure was constructed of hewn stone, and, during its 1100 years long history, subjected to several major reconstructions and renovations.

The Pazin Castle was first mentioned in 983 in a document issued by Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, confirming the possession of the castle to bishop of Poreč. In the 12th century the bishops of Poreč ceded it to Meinhard of Schwarzenburg, owner of Črnigrad Castle, then to Meinhard I, Count of Gorizia, and finally to Meinhard, Margrave of Istria (d. 1193) and his successors.

In 1374 Albert IV, Margrave of Gorizia, died without successors and the castle was inherited by the members of the House of Habsburg. They rented or mortgaged it many times during the next few centuries to various noblemen closely related to them.

The castle was finally sold to Antonio Laderchi de Montecuccoli in 1766 and remained the property of his family until 1945. In the meantime, various countries around the castle changed many times over the last more than 200 years: after the end of the Venetian Republic in 1797, Pazin belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy, then to Napoleon's French Empire, again to the Habsburg Monarchy, in 1918 to Italy, in 1945 to Yugoslavia, and in 1991 to Croatia.

Today, the Pazin Castle houses the Ethnographic Museum with exhibits of the life of the Istrian peninsula inhabitants.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Pawel Sobota (8 months ago)
Interesting place in the middle of Istria. Good food in Peperone restaurant

Josie Leugner (2 years ago)
A very impressive castle to visit. We didn't go in as dogs are not allowed in the building. Pazin is a lovely town to go and visit. It has a Zip Line into town and a cave you can visit. We did the education trail with our dog which cost 5€ per person.

Norm Bour -Travel Younger (2 years ago)
What an amazing surprise to find a castle that still has an ancient feeling, but has been tastefully modernized. They have great exhibits both of ancient artifacts as well as more recent over the last 600 years. After seeing so many castles, this one stood out.

Ghassan H (2 years ago)
So much beatful towen i can give milon stars

Paul Heller (2 years ago)
The castle isn't anything special. But its located on the cliff side and has some decent views. Didn't go inside. It's in good condition though. Located at the edge of town, about a 10 minute walk from the main square.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

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The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.

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