Lipovec - castle Okich's little brother

The year is 1251. Almost a decade has passed since Mongols invaded our land. But people are still in fear. Because Mongols, a devastating force from the Far East that made them shake well in their shoes, could return. Even king Bela IV knows no peace of mind. He has no will of leaving the comfort of his court, of running away again, from the hoard of conquerors, all the way down to the South, to Dalmatia. The king knows the country should be fortified, that as many strong castles as possible should be built throughout the kingdom. And is very well aware he cannot do it by himself. Therefore, many noblemen have already got king’s permission to build castles to suit their needs but also to provide defense if another Mongol attack should follow. And among them we find Ivan, the possessor of famous castle Okić (Okich). Ivan got his share of fame during the battle against Mongols and therefore has earned king's gratitude and a prize: a land in the vicinity of Okić to build a fort for a defense of the area. 

Lipovec hill, view from the path to Oštrc massif

view of Lipovec in wintertime

And so, our count Ivan has built castle Lipovec[1], in the image and likeness of his Okić , at the top of a conical hill overlooking the old road to the German Empire, at an excellent strategic position, but still so well hidden it couldn’t be seen until the foot of its walls was reached.

closer look at hardly noticeable walls

Lipovec overgrown by vegetation, view from Oštrc

Over the centuries Lipovec has stood at the hill above the “gorge”, faithfully carrying out his “guardian” duty, just in the hands of different landlords. Today, there are no more counts of Okić (comes de Oklych), no Babonićs, no Frankopans or Erdödies, and Lipovec still stands at his little hill. But his days of glory have passed as well, just truncated walls have remained, almost entirely covered by an overgrown vegetation. And so stand the walls in the quietness of a deep forest, treasuring stories of the past, and only the one who knows whence and where to look can spot, at the top of a distant hill, the remains of small but important castle – the center of old Lipovec-Jastrebarsko seigniory.

remains of the keep

Present path to Lipovec (at 589 m) starts at mountain hut Šoićeva kuća (Šoić’s house) which is the oldest building of the kind in the hills of Samobor. It was built in 1931. at the location of a former forest railroad station. Its name came from former president of Croatian Mountaineering Society “Japetić”. From the parking lot in front of the house, a path climbs sharply up the hill over several serpentine, approaches Lipovec ruins from the north, goes around them and ends in front of the former (and present) gateway at SE.

castle's gateway, view from the approach

inner curtain wall with the gateway

At NE, east and SE side, the castle was enclosed by an outer curtain wall of which only scarce traces have remained, and is best preserved in front of the gateway itself.

The main, inner part of the castle was built following the contour of the plateau at the top of the hill, but still has, to some extent, kept straight lines. Although the similarity among plans of two castles (in Croatia) is extremely rare, as every single one depends largely on the character of the site it occupies, Lipovec shows great similarity not only with his “older brother” Okić, but also with castle Velika north of Požega. Its plan is of elongated shape with three-sided keep at one side, palace at the other and small inner courtyard with the cistern in the middle.

view of the keep from the courtyard

location of the palace, view from the keep

Though built by Ivan of Okić, Lipovac was sold by him to Radoslav Babonić already in 1283. The Babonić family loses the estate in a conflict with the king in 1325. In the mid 14^th ct., the king gives it to noblemen Rafael and Nicholas Mutina (Muchina), and in the mid 15^th ct. it was transferred, due to marital relations, to the possession of Frankopan family. In 1470. Martin Frankopan gives it over to the king Mattheus Corvinus who, in 1502, gives it away, as a prize, to his supporters Ladislau and Thomas Petö de Gerse. In 1519, by an estate switch, Thomas Bakač Erdödy gains possession of Lipovec estate which remains the property of the Erdödies until the abolition of serfdom in 1848. In the 16^th ct., after the construction of renaissance fort (castelum) in Jastrebarsko, the castle itself is already dilapidated and deserted while in the 17^th ct. and later is mentioned as a ruin.

remains of the keep

remains of the keep

And the 21th ct. has arrived and Lipovec slowly slips into oblivion, surrounded by thick vegetation, completely overgrown, abandoned, seldom visited, rarely mentioned…

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[1] in the literature, two variations of name can be found: Lipovec and Lipovac. I consider the first one correct as that name form appears in the document by which Bela IV grants construction of a castle to Ivan of Okić (…montem quendam Lipovech nomine…)

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SPACVA - Croatian jungle aka Mosquito Empire

At eastmost part of Croatia, north and south of the Zagreb-Lipovac highway, lies Spačva forest – the last remains of ancient Slavonian jungle. The forest’s name comes from the homonym river that runs through it. The forest is also cut through by streams of river Bosut and its confluences Studva, Virovi, Lubanj, Berava and Biđ. It outspreads over 40 000 ha and makes 1/5 of all Pedunculate (English) Oak forest in Croatia while is also among the biggest integral Pedunculate Oak forests in Europe!

river Studva

Around this time last year, we went on a trip to Spačva to see for ourselves “what they got there”. Of course, the forest was not our only destination that day, but more ‘bout the other ones some other time.

What we have had in mind was a drive throughout the forest to see as much of it as possible (we picked up the south part of the forest, but unfortunately we saw less than planned due to the “flying” reasons (see below)). Although Spačva is cut through by dirt roads (good ones) and in theory is accessible to visitors, at the spot where we’ve entered the forest (south of Lipovac) a “no traffic” sign stands. Do I have to say that we’ve completely ignored it? But, in our defense, there wasn’t any sign at the spot where we’ve exit the forest, there’s even a wooden “entrance” with the village name written on it. At the end, it turned out that local people drive throughout the forest practically on daily basis so we failed to understand whether people are legally or illegally driving around. Famous Croatian contradictoriness.

the swamp

river Studva

a well

So the two of us “set a course” through the forest. The nature is really beautiful there. What green color palette, from light green to completely dark one. From pure green to one crossing into blue. Uncountable species of field flowers. Harmony of nature in every possible way. We’ve also seen beautiful specimens of animal life like a doe (that was, unfortunately, too far away for any normal photo but was staring at us for quite some time till we decided it has been enough of watching and drove away), doe with a fawn standing in the middle of the road (but those two run away faster than we could turn on our cameras) and rather rare black stork that was so obliging and have done some nice posing for us. 

black stork

black stork

flying black stork

Unfortunately, besides lovely little animals, the forest was swarming with different beetles of all sizes, colors and shapes that would completely “lose their minds” when they would “smell” fresh warmblooded beings, meaning us. And what was even worse, bloodsucking beasts aka mosquitoes were present in such a large number, that we could talk billions! It was practically impossible to step out of the car. Most of the photographing was done this way: rub up with anti-mosquito wipe – lower the window – spray autan/off out of the car – click-click! – raise the window – death to mosquitoes in the car! – gangway! (through beasties). The usage of autan/off/dipterol (and who knows what else, there were many different bottles) could have been measured in hectoliters, and we’ve also used the entire package (large one) of some anti-mosquito wipes. Horrifying!

lil' canal and lil' bridge

Besides driving around, we’ve also planned to visit castle Zvjezdan – a Wasserburg (water-castle) deep inside Spačva, by the banks of Studva. But, we gave up the idea: too many mosquitos, too much vegetation and too much mud for a normal approach. 

river Studva by sport-fishing center

Studva - detail

While we were still searching for a possible path to the castle, we run into a sport-fishing center on Studva riverside. 

river Studva by sport-fishing center

sport-fishing center

A nice, amiable group was gathered here and we were offered right away with some drinks and waffles and also instructed that the best way to reach castle Zvjezdan is by boat. They’ve even offered us a transport. But, due to the “flying” menace, we declined. The most interesting thing was that mosquitoes didn’t seem to care much for a “local food” – I mean, those people sit there all day long without being bitten (a bite or two I do not count)! And we were surrounded by a whole swarm the moment we stepped out of the car! Long sleeves (during high temperature), long pants, constant spraying with autan all over and around… didn’t help much. They were flying into our hair, eyes, mouth (if you opened them, for example, to say something) – T E R R O R!!! So we have, rather quickly, thanked our hosts for their hospitality and run away into the safeness of our car. And, as a natural follow-up, by the first possible way, out of Spačva in the direction of village Soljani.

Studva

"exit" to village Soljani

Conclusion: Spačva is a magnificent part of East Croatia as it once was. Definitely worth a visit to enjoy the wonderful span of green and beauty of the nature. It soothes the mind, really (when there’s no mosquitoes, of course :-D). BUT, avoid the period of mosquitoes, especially after the rain. If there hasn’t been for that flying pests, this trip would have been a completely different story (but we have no regrets! ;-) ).

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Castle Sused - life in the shadow of castle Medved

Not many cities can boast with the vicinity of two very well preserved castles, the way Zagreb can (and if we would add all castles in the area together with ones of which nothing has remained, the number would be rather large). All of Zagreb’s inhabitants know about castle Medved, but I’m sure many of them have never heard about Sused. Although Medved is closer to city downtown (Jelacic square, to be exact), Sused is much closer to city’s residential area – it is situated above city’s westmost quarter Podsused (coming from the north, from the last house to the entrance into the castle takes no more than 2-minute walk while from the south, from the center of Podused, it can be reached by a 10-minute walk through the park at the slope of the hill). The castle is built at the top of a steep hill, at a favorable strategic point, not far from a confluence of rivers Krapina and Sava, and it controls both land and river traffic routes.

Ivan Standl: castle Sused (1869/1870)

Although situated in the capital’s suburbs, somehow it has always been and has remained in the shadow of castle Medved. Maybe cause it isn’t seen from the town the way Medved is so it doesn’t “catch the eye”, it doesn’t attract people, doesn’t “call” them. The castle can be seen when driving on highway towards/from Krapina, but most of the time the abundant vegetation screens the view to its walls. So many pass by, looking at wooded hill, not knowing that it holds secrets of the past, old walls of a castle. 

view of the castle from the East (from the other side of the moat)

Considering the vicinity of residential area and very good public transport connection with the rest of the city (train, bus) and accessibility by car, it is a real shame that Sused doesn’t have more visitors.

view of the castle from the East (closer look)

If one day you’ll find yourself in Zagreb and decide to visit this “accessible” castle, at the plateau on the top of the hill you’ll be greeted by a set of well preserved walls. Coming from the Podsused, through the park, the first thing you’ll reach is the moat that surrounds the castle from the south, SW and SE while on the north side is a natural steep slope. 

moat

view of the castle from SW

Crossing the moat, you enter the outer bailey which is the new part of the castle, built in the 16^th ct. Not much of walls if preserved here and you can hardly tell apart any structures but we know this part was surrounded by outer curtain wall which was strengthened at the SW side by a round tower next to which might have been the main entrance to the castle. 

part of the outer bailey, view from the SE

West curtain wall

But, if you pass through the door at the south wall into the residential (older) part of the castle, you’ll see another picture as the walls are much better preserved here. 

view of the old part (and the entrance) from the South

Passing through the door will take you into the small inner bailey (courtyard) with a well. 

well

It is enclosed by buildings which ground floor rooms have been workshops while the 1^st floor was residential. 

remains of buildings enclosing the courtyard with a well

If you look closer, at the north part of the castle you’ll notice two doors with preserved stone doorposts. 

doorpost

doorpost

The castle has had a chapel, separated from the palace. Its exact location is not know: it might have been situated in the rectangular structure (interpreted as a tower) at the NE corner of the castle. This is corroborated by the find of chapel’s portal lunette, with the “Imago Pietatis” motif, that was found near the “tower”. This motif came into use during the 13^th ct. and was especially common during the renaissance period (the 15-16^th ct.).

"Imago Pietatis" lunette; Croatian History Museum

The exact moment of the erection of the castle is not know. It is supposed it was build by a king Karl Robert of Anjou (1301-1342) at the beginning of his reign. In historical documents, it was mentioned for the first time in 1316. But there is a possibility an earlier wooden fort existed at this location before the 14^th ct. Archaeological finds from the 9^th ct., found in the vicinity of the castle, confirm the continuity of the site although the excavations haven’t explicitly proven the existence of an older fort. But in favor of its existence goes the location of the castle – its position at height of only 194 m is more “premongol” than “postmongol” (in Croatian it means before and after the Mongol invasion in 1242) as “postmongol” castles are regularly built at higher altitudes due to the fear of their builders (we can say they have followed the rule: higher = safer = better :-) ). And this position is definitely not very high and not extremely well protected by the nature itself.

remains of west curtain wall with a loophole

remains of walls in the north part of castle

Ferenc Tahy's tombstone

After the castle was built, it remained in the possession of the king until 1345. when the owner became Nicholas of Gornja Stubica from the Toth family which owns the castle, together with castle Stubica, till 1439. At that time, due to the marriage, it passes into the hands of Henning family. The Henings remain in the possession of the estate till 1409. when the family became extinct in the male lineage. In 1534, the king gives away the estate to Zagreb’s bishop Simon Erdödy, but the descendants of the Hennings demand their rights. From that moment onwards, the castle passes from one hand to another until, in 1559, the owner of one half of the estate becomes Andrew Henning Teuffenbach. After his death, the estate passes into the hands of Andrew Bathory and the descendants of the Henning family: Ursula Maknicer and Ambros Gregorijan. Bathory sells his part of the Susedgrad-Stubica estate to Ferenc Tahy while the Hennings want it all for themselves and such division of the estate has caused the peasant revolt in 1573. lead by Matija Gubec. After the revolt was suppressed, Ursula Maknicer and Ambros Gregorijan came again into the possession of the estate.

Castle Sused was abandoned at the beginning of the 17^th ct: according to one theory, it has burnt down, according to the other, it hasn’t … and its real destiny might be reveled by some future excavations.

Later, the estate often passes from one proprietor to another and, at one moment, its owners are noble family Sermage who hold the title “de Szomszedvar” (of Sused).

And now, when we know what we are talking about, it’s time for some critics :-)

It’s a real disgrace, outrage how seldom the castle is cleaned of vegetation. Once I have brought a friend from Europe to see the castle and when we got there, I wanted to die of shame! Due to the overgrown vegetation, it wasn’t possible to enter the castle. The grass and bushes were almost over our heads so, who likes it, be my guest, but us, no thanks! I don’t even want to imagine the number of ticks and other beasts that were waiting for a “fresh meat” to show up. Authorities should put to work their employees who cut tree branches and mow lawns to do more working and less goofing off, or in other words: to work more than five minutes after which they sleep at least 30 minutes in their little tractors (and I’m not telling stories here, these are the facts I’ve eye witnessed many times). It should be the other way around: they should work for 2-3 hours and then take a 5/10-minute rest. And then, how could we expect for more people to visit Sused when they can’t even walk about the place they came to see. So typically Croatian.

And the state of the walls, we shouldn’t discuss it at all. At every step there is a danger of a stone falling onto your head. No warnings anywhere, and the absence of the warning for the well in the courtyard is the funniest part. If you don’t know where it is, and if it’s covered with vegetation, and if you don’t watch your step, you can easily fall into it. It’s not a very deep hole, but it’s enough for you to break your leg – people have broken thousands of legs walking on the normal asphalt roads! But don’t let all this to talk you out of the idea to visit Sused. Go, take a look and see for yourself what we are letting to “rot” in the back yard of our capital.

And at the end we can only wish Sused a brighter future with more maintenance and wall conservation, with more visitors, better representation in Zagreb’s tourist offers and final step out from the shadow of “big brother” Medved.

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N.P. Risnjak - Veliki Risnjak

“Deep inside the forest

Is a door into another land

Here is our life and home…”

Deep inside the forest, in the heart of Gorski kotar (literally: Highland district), only one-hour drive from Zagreb, lies National park Risnjak. For me, far most favorite and beautiful among all parks in Croatia. “Way to go!” Plitvice, Krka, Mljet, Brijuni... but to me, it seems as there’s no place where I can find such an ultimate peace, quietness and real bond with nature like the one I can find here (but that’s only my humble opinion). I don’t know, maybe that’s my highlander quarter that speaks from me now, the part that descends from Crni Lug, a small village situated at the very edge of the park (the park administration is in Bijela Vodica, Crni Lug area). Whether you decide to climb the highest peak – Veliki (Big) Risnjak, or refresh yourself at the source of river Kupa, or you prefer an easy and pleasant stroll through the forest following the Leska Educational path, you’ll surely be left breathless by the nature and beauty of this place.  It happens to me constantly, and I’ve been here so many times…

view of Josip Schlosser mountain hut and Veliki Risnjak

I won’t write stories about park history and similar things as the park has really good official web page (click here). They’ve even described hiking trails and stuff like that. Well done! Really commendable. Just to mention the name “Risnjak”  - it comes from the word “ris” which means “lynx”. Once upon a time there were many lynx at this region, nowadays it’s extremely rare but this is one of the rare areas in Croatia where the lynx survives.

Eurasian lynx

As said before, many times I’ve been at Risnjak, at the foot of Risnjak, around the Risnjak… and this time the decision was made to climb (again) the highest peak of the park Veliki Risnjak (Big Risnjak), at 1528 m, from which beautiful views extend over the Kvarner bay, Istria and the Julian Alps in Slovenia.

view of Kvarner

view of Lokvarsko lake

view of  Snježnik

As this was a one-day trip, we had to choose one of the short paths – for example, the 3-hour hike from Bijela Vodica, Crni Lug was out of the question. The problem was not in the hike but the driving back to Zagreb later. I think I would have been too tired for that. :-) So, we have decided on the path from Gornje Jelenje (Vilje entrance: 6 km from Gornje Jelenje by partly paved road to the spot in the forest called “kod bukve” (literally “at beech’s”) where you can park) that leads through the site of Medvjeđa vrata (Bear’s gate). 

parking "kod bukve"

This is the shortest way to reach the peak and it takes around 1-hour hike to get there. The path goes through the forest most of the time so it’s a pleasant hike even in the summertime. After a 15-20 minutes walk from the beech, you reach Medvjeđa vrata, at 1280 m. Of course, these are not real gate, but a notch in the rock from which a view extends over the forest to the south. This is also a crossroad of paths from Crni Lug (variant via Medvjeđa vrata), from Mrzla Vodica, from Gornje Jelenje and from the Veliki Risnjak. 

Medvjeđa vrata

Our way continues onwards by the path that clinges onto the Risnjak ridge, passes by the slope of southern Mali Risnjak (Little Risnjak) and comes out of the forest to enter the scrub forest zone from which the view extends over the entire Risnjak massif and the Schlosser mountain hut.

the path, view from the north

view from the path on the hut and Veliki Risnjak

view from the path on the hut and Veliki Risnjak

The Schlosser mountain hut, at 1418 m, is situated on the meadow at the foot of Veliki Risnjak. Both the hut and the meadow are named after dr. Josip Schlosser Klekovski (1808-1882), Croatian physician, alpinist and botanist, also an explorer of Risnjak mountain. 

dr. Josip Schlosser Klekovski

Present-day hut is built at the spot of the old one, built in 1932 and destroyed during the WWII. The hut was completed in 1957. and completely renovated in 1988. From May 1 to October 31, the hut is open every day EXCEPT Tuesday and during the rest of the year, the winter room is open.

dr. Josip Schlosser Klekovski mountain hut

Behind the hut, the ascent to the Veliki Risnjak peak begins. You’ll need around 15 minutes, first through the pine scrub forest zone and then through the rocks to reach the peak. 

beginning of the path behind the hut

path through the rocks

At some spots, the path is secured with metal rope, and at other you’ll need to use your hands and hold onto the rocks. But, despite that, the ascent is not heavy and is suitable for (almost) all people off all age. 

better to hold onto the rope than break a neck! :-D

At the top of the peak there is a big monolithic rock with a register book and a stamp.

Veliki Risnjak peak

At the time of our visit, a strong wind was blowing so we didn’t enjoy the view as much as we hoped for, but when there’s no wind…. then it’s a real pleasure and delight. But, what can be done? … it can’t be perfect every single time. :-)

Here are some photos of view from the top:

At the end, here’s a little bit of flora and fauna:

turk's cap lily (lilium martagon)

oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) and little red beetles

Old man's beard / Traveler's Joy (Clematis Vitalba L.)

aconite, monkshood (Aconitum) ??

mountain pine (pinus mugo)

peacock butterfly (Inachis Io)

and to conclude with the rest of the verse from the beginning of the post ... :-)

“…We are stayin’ here forever

In the beauty of this place, all alone…”

View NP Risnjak - Veliki Risnjak in a larger map