On southern slopes of Kalnik hills, at the top of hardly accessible cliff (at 460 m height), NW from village Vojnovec Kalnički and around 20 km NW from town Križevci, remains of Mali Kalnik castle can be found. “Mali” means little as east from here a much bigger castle, called Veliki (big) Kalnik, is situated.
In the past, the only approach to the castle was a steep rampart that follows the ridge of the cliff from east to west, but today the castle can also be reached by a path that approaches the top of the cliff from east (from Vojnovec Kalnički; depending where you park the car, the hike can take around 30-60 minutes).
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| view from Mali Kalnik towards SE |
Old approach along the ridge of the cliff goes through the rift in the rock where the gate probably stood followed by a drawbridge, a stairway and second drawbridge that led into the gate tower. Alongside the approach, at the foot of the cliff, a scarce remains of ancillary buildings, partly cut into the rock, are visible.
Regarding the excellent position that can be considered a natural fort, the castle, except the entrance, probably didn’t’ have any additional defense mechanisms.
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| approach following the cliff ridge (at the back: remains of gate tower) |
Of the gate tower only foundation walls remain and the sad part is that the tower was still standing up to 2nd storey till the beginning of the 20th ct. It’s almost incredible how much it collapsed in last 100 years. Obviously, no one found it important to prevent its collapse. :-(((( On old photos one can notice gothic characteristics: the first storey has narrow gothic window while the second one has large windows with gothic cross. But remaining walls are very thick and of romanesque construction style.
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| Mali Kalnik, around 1910 |
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| Mali Kalnik, 1970. |
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| Mali Kalnik (gate tower) today |
Of other walls only scarce foundations remain, hardly noticeable under the vegetation. The plan of the castle is in the shape of irregular semicircle. Due to the lack of space, the castle expanded into height and probably has had ground floor and two more storeys (both the gate tower and the palace).
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| remains of gate tower, view from the position of palace |
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| NW corner of tower foundations |
The cliff on which the castle stands is called Pusta Barbara (Abandoned Barbara) and, being a habitat of many rare plant species, it was proclaimed a botanical reserve.
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| south part of the cliff on which palace once stood |
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| SW corner of gate tower and remains of retaining wall |
In historical documents, Mali Kalnik is mentioned as Kys Kemluk, Inferiori Kemluk i Minor Kemluk.
The settlement and estate Mali Kalnik is mentioned for the first time in 1240. In the mid 13th ct. it is the property of Abraham and Nicholas, sons of Moravče county prefect, as is affirmed by king Bela IV in 1250. The castle itself is not mentioned until 1334. Throughout its history, it often changes owners (Zagreb’s bishop Augustin Kažotić, prince Nikola Szechy, prince of Bosnia Vuk Vučić, queen Barbara of Celje around 1408, Katarina of Celje 1456-1461, Jan Vitovac 1461-1470) and gradually tightens its bonds with Veliki Kalnik estate.
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| view of Kalnik hills peak (with antenna) from Mali Kalnik |
In 1599 Franjo Orehoczy purchases the castle and joins both Kalnik castles in one estate by being the part-owner of Veliki Kalnik since 1596 till 1608.
In the mid 17th ct. "curia Reka" is built and later, between 1650 and 1663, Vladislav Orehoczy Jr builds a mansion in village Gornja Rijeka which causes Mali Kalnik to lose its importance as a center of the estate and to end up in ruins as early as the 18th ct.
View Kalnik in a larger map
