Čakovec or Zrinski Castle is the biggest fortification in Međimurje County. It was constructed of hewn stone and red brick, and, during its more than 7-century-long history, subjected to several reconstructions. Today it is partly restored.
First fortification was built in the 13th century by Count Dimitrius Csáky, after whom the city of Čakovec is named. It was later owned by many other notable families, including the House of Lacković, the Counts of Celje as well as the House of Ernušt, House of Zrinski, House of Feštetić and others.
Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Ban (viceroy) of Croatia and hero of Siget, was granted the castle together with the whole area of Međimurje on 12 March 1546 from King Ferdinand as a compensation for his battles against the Ottomans.
Nikola Šubić Zrinski's great-grandson Nikola VII Zrinski, long-term Ban of Croatia and famous warrior against the Turks, was born in Čakovec Castle in 1620 to Juraj V Zrinski and Magdalena Zrinski née Széchy. In his castle he established and owned a unique book collection named 'Bibliotheca Zriniana'.
In 1660 the castle was visited by Evliya Çelebi, Turkish traveller and writer, and in 1661 by Jacobus Tollius, Dutch philologist. The famous Hungarian poet-general Miklós Zrínyi died here in 18 Nov 1664.
On 30 April 1738 castle was heavily damaged in an earthquake. It was immediately rebuilt and redesigned in baroque style, and it was given its present-day look. Water-filled moats, that entirely surrounded the castle, were later drained and filled with earth.
The castle's main palace houses the Međimurje County Museum, the biggest museum in the county, and its atrium is also used as an outdoor theatre during the summer months. The place was the scene of the Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy, a significant event in the history of Croatia.
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).