Oštrc - beauty of Samobor hills

Only 25 km from Zagreb, in the center of Samobor hills, there’s a nature beauty called Oštrc. Its name comes from the shape of the highest peak that is characterized by steep slopes and partly rocky ridge (oštar = sharp). Cause of its beauty, Oštrc massif is very popular among hikers and climbers. 

Oštrc peak (left) and Plješivica massif (right)

Another advantage of Oštrc is its accessibility: it is encircled by two roads with regular bus lines while all three mountain huts (Šoićeva kuća, Veliki dol, Željezničar at Oštrc) can be reached with a car and/or 4WD. Hiking paths are numerous as well, so everybody can find something to their liking.

The shortest (approx. 1 hour), but also the steepest, is the access from village Rude. From Rude, Oštrc can also be reached by a longer path that goes by the mountain hut at Veliki dol. From mountain hut Šoićeva kuća Oštrc can be reach by path that first goes over Lipovec hill with ruins of a small castle and the hike altogether takes around 1.5 hours. Those preferring longer walks can hike to Oštrc from Samobor, across Palačnik hill, and it will take around 2-2.5 hours for them to reach the peak.

Veliki dol can be reached by car from the village Gregurić-breg near Samobor: from the road that goes from Samobor to Smerovišće you should turn left to Gregurić-breg and follow the signs. At the turn there is a rather large sign for Veliki dol – I think one should be blind to miss it.

For our ascent, we have chosen the path from village Smerovišće that passes by the Veliki dol hut where you can chose among two different paths to reach the top of Oštrc: one can be used for ascent and the other for descent (this way you can see more, of course). So, lets start at the beginning:

In this ascent variant, you can go by car to Smerovišće (bus station and Dumić inn) where you should turn left up the hill by a narrow paved road. You can also leave the car in Smerovišće but I, personally, find no “charm” in walking up the hill on the hot asphalt with almost no shade. So, we continued by car  as far as possible. You only have to follow markings and you cannot miss. High up the hill, at one point, a narrow path to Veliki dol and Oštrc turns left from our road. You can park at the beginning of the path: there’s enough space for two small or one big car. Or you should look for some place up or down the road.

the first part of the path (lookin' back)

This path, that is not as bad as it looks, will take you sharply up the hill. At this point you should walk carefully as the path is rather slippery at one part. After around 10-15’ you’ll reach unpaved road from Gregurić-breg and following the road, after another 10’ or less of an easy walk, you’ll reach the mountain hut at Veliki dol. Just before the hut, at the left side you can see the path coming from Rude.

unpaved road Gregurić breg - Veliki dol

"Ivica Sudnik" mountain hut at Veliki dol was built in 1963 at foundations of an old hut/shelter but, due to the lack of funding, it has never been completed. It is open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Info for coffee-lovers: there’s no espresso, but they make very good Turkish coffee (which I usually can’t stand and find it disgusting, but this one was good). 

mountain hut at Veliki dol

mountain hut at Veliki dol

 

From Veliki dol follow the path behind the hut. After a few minutes, you reach the crossroad. Here you have to chose the path that’ll take you to the top of Oštrc. 

crossroad: left or right?

As already mentioned, there are two possibilities: right one is Hofman’s path that follows right slope of Ptičji brijeg (Bird’s hill) while the left one is longer but more interesting path that crosses grassy slopes of Ptičji brijeg. We have chosen the last one for the ascent while the first one was to be used for the descent. And we have chosen well! Because that path most of the time goes through the woods and the ascent is very light (we haven’t even felt it). On the contrary, Hofman’s path, although starting out as a nice, wide and shady, goes most of the time under the sun, it’s very steep and slippery and it seems it’s better to use it for descent than for ascent unless you want to burn a few more calories during the ascent :-) (but if you have knee-problems, it’s definitely not recommended for descent).

the beginning of the left path

the first part of the path, looks a bit like a jungle but it's better later on

Anyway, the nature along the first path is wonderful: lovely little meadows alongside the first part of the path are real jewels with colorful field flowers and speckled butterflies flying from one flower to another. This diversity of flora is one of characteristics that makes Oštrc so special. 

landscape along the path

landscape along the path

landscape along the path

After around 10-15’, our path meets the path coming from Rude. At one point, the path comes out at small clear area with a view towards North-NW – here is where the path forks: left one, following the markings, continues toward Oštrc while the right one takes you to the Ptičji brijeg (don’t worry: if you climb this hill, you don’t need to come down this side as the path continues, following the ridge of Ptičji brijeg, and meets our path few minutes before the mountain hut) – who has the will should definitely take this way as the view is magnificent and flora very interesting (cute little oak trees and different interestingly shaped bushes :-) ) 

view from Ptičji brijeg towards SE

view of Zagreb and mountain Medvednica from Ptičji brijeg

view of Zagreb and mountain Medvednica from Ptičji brijeg

But, going in the direction of Oštrc, the one has to climb a very very steep slope to the top of Ptičji brijeg so better option is, if you’ll be coming back from Oštrc by the same path, to climb it up on the way back.

Ptičji brijeg

Ptičji brijeg

Ptičji brijeg

Few minutes before the mountain hut, our path meets Hofman’s and the one coming from Ptičji brijeg.

view of Plješivica massif from the crossroad

Mountain hut “Željezničar” at Oštrc is situated at the foot of north slope of the highest peak, at a narrow saddle where paths are crossing. Behind the hut, the path continues to the Oštrc peak and also a narrow unpaved road leads to village Braslovje.

mountain hut "Željezničar" at Oštrc

The first hut at Oštrc was pupil’s mountain hut built in 1936. while between 1946 and 1948 it got today’s size and form. It is opened on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The choice of food is not big (usual offer consist of strudels, greblica – sort of salty cheesecake, soup and 2-3 meat meals, every time different ones) but the food is tasty and home-made.

the bust of national hero Janko Gredelj in front of the hut

The top of Oštrc can be reached by a steep, slippery path (it can be rather dangerous after the rain). The path will first take you to a small plateau from which a wonderful view spreads towards NW, North, NE and East while the view towards South and SE is somewhat obscured by vegetation. 

the view from the plateau

the view from the plateau

If, from this spot, you look towards North, you’ll notice a small conical hill (next to a bigger conical hill) at which top, shyly protruding from overgrown vegetation, stand ruins of castle Lipovec. 

view of castle Lipovec

From this plateau you should follow the path a little bit more onwards (around 1’) to the peak itself where you’ll find a high wooden cross and a memorial. 

the cross

Here the view is pretty much obscured by vegetation. Only the view of Zagreb and Medvednica together with the one towards West and SW is a little bit better than from the plateau.

just another view from the top

And later, after enjoying wonderful views and nature and also good chow, we started our hike back by Hofman's path:

Hofman's path

Hofman's path

Hofman's path

Hofman's path

Hofman's path just before the crossroad at Veliki dol

 

The conclusion: the view from the top of Oštrc and along the path, the nature and all around is wonderful so you should simply leave your mind at rest, relax and enjoy the beauty of this little peace of heaven on Earth.

Cause of the large number of photos, a separate post with flora and (flying) fauna pics follows! :-)

View Oštrc in a larger map
 

Okic

          My favorite, the most beautiful, most visited... the one and only Okić

Okić, view from NW

If you travel by highway (or by old road)  Zagreb-Karlovac and halfway between Zagreb and Jastrebarsko look towards west, you’ll notice odd looking conical hill, standing there alone, separated from the Plješivica ridge. It’s flat top is not a wonder of nature but work of human hands – these are the ruins of small castle Okić (read: Okich), a seat of famous count Ivan of Okić, and later counts Babonić, Frankopan and Erdödy.

Okić, view from NE

Okić, view from the north

Okić was built at the top of the cave, on a hill 499 m of height, leaving the impression of being coalesced with the rock what makes it one of our most picturesque castles. 

Okić, view from NW

With its superior strategic position, it overlooks wide area – the view from it spans over Posavina (river Sava basin), Pokuplje (river Kupa basin), Zagreb and part of Zagorje county. At clear day, Okić is visible even from the foot of mount Ivanščica, far at north, which made it possible to communicate via fire signals. 

view of Zagreb and Medvednica

view from Okić (Medvednica, Zagorje county and mont Ivanščica far at north)

Due to all that, since long ago it has been a special attraction and frequent target of many hikers and climbers while rocks at the south side of the hill have been popular practice spot of Zagreb’s alpinists. Early as 1843, Dragojla Jarnević (1812-1875) has climbed up to Okić through the rocks what is considered to be the first climb in the history of Croatian alpinism. 

Dragojla Jarnović

In 1978, a mountain hut has been built at the foot of Okić, and few years ago a road that leads to it was paved in full length, what made it even more popular resort.

mountain hut at the foot of Okić

It takes around a 10’ hike from the hut to the castle, by somewhat steep path partly cut into rocks.

the path at the beginning

the first part of the path (before the entrance/gatehouse)

The castle consists of 4 separated parts: entrance part, cistern, chapel and residential area. When approaching the castle, the first thing you reach is, of course, the entrance  (sort of a gatehouse) where a very prolonged, rectangular object stands. It is divided in two parts of which eastern one might have had upper storey. Legend has it that ground floor was in a function of stables and stalls while the upper one served as a guard-tower. 

entrance/gatehouse, western part

entrance/gatehouse, eastern part

We countinue to follow the path which now turns into a very narrow one cut into rocks.

the path between the entrance and residential part

the path between the entrance and residential part

Next structure along the path is a cistern that was misinterpreted in the past as a tower. Unfortunately, even nowadays this mistake appears in some articles when authors don’t consult newer and more detailed literature. The cistern is, with its western part, almost completely cut into the slope of the hill. At the top, remains of a promenade surrounded by a wall are still visible – besides from grabbing the water, it could also be used as a guarding spot for additional supervision of the entrance.

the cistern

From the cistern, the path continues towards the chapel where it sharply turns left and enters the castle at the approximately same spot where castle gate once stood. 

view of the chapel from the approach path

The chapel itself is a stand-alone building, separated from the rest of the castle, and is built at a small, separated ridge that dictated its irregular shape of prolonged rectangle with a round apse. It was probably built at the end of the Romanesque period (beginning of the 13^th ct. and before the Mongol invasion in 1242).

the chapel (apse) at summertime

the chapel (apse) at wintertime

interior of the chapel (view from the apse) 
and castle's north wall

The residential part of the castle occupies the entire plateau at the top of the hill. The contour of the rock has dictated its prolongated shape. The wall curtain encloses small inner bailey (courtyard) at whose western part a palace is situated (due to its tower-like shape, palace could also serve as a keep).  

palace, north wall, holes for wooden beams (flooring)

palace, north wall

Okić especially stands out among other castles with well preserved Romanesque walls: south and west walls are preserved in full height while the north one is partly preserved. These walls, with thickness of only around 80 cm, are the thinnest among Croatian castles but, after the Mongol invasion, they were thickened up to c160 cm.

Romanesque south wall (courtyard side)

south wall, outer side

Okić stands in company of a very few castles in continental Croatia that were mentioned before the 13^th ct. The oldest record of its name we find in a 1193 document by which Kalan, the bishop of Pecs, in the name of Hungarian-Croatian rulers the Arpads, issues a muniment which defines that the church of Zagreb and  its bishop Dominic are entitled to receive denary (tax in the amount of 1/10 of an income). Some older authors, e.g. Ivan Kukuljević and Emil Laszowski, speculate that some kind of a fort existed at this location as early as in period of Croatian national rulers (9-11^th ct). 

north wall, eastern part

north wall, western part

The first known possessor of Okić is count Jaroslav of Okić, as recorded in 1217 document. At that time, Okić estate reaches the area of Blato by the banks of Sava (SW edge of Zagreb, between quarter Lanište and highway entrance Lučko). His son Ivan (John) gained fame in 1242 during the Mongol invasion and in 1251 was rewarded by the king with a land to build a castle (Lipovec near Samobor) for the future protection of the area. Ivan has also defeated Czech king Otokar and recaptured castle Samobor which, at that moment and by a decision of king Ladislav IV, has passed into his possession. At the beginning of the 14^th ct. Ivan II of Okić is mentioned and he was, according to historical documents, a son of Ivan and the last count of Okić. But already in 1293. Okić is in the possession of count Radoslav Babonić. Babonić family loses the castle in the 1^st half of the 14^th ct. when it is in the possession of the king.  In 1416, Okić is purchased by Nikola Krčki Frankopan and this famous family holds it until 1470 when Martin Frankopan gives it away to the king. In 1493 the esate is purchased by noble family Bakač- Erdödy which remains in the possesion of the castle until 1922 and the death of Stjepan. the last of Erdödy. The castle itself was abandoned around the end of the 16^th ct., after the Erdödy have started the construction of renaissance fort in Kerestinec, SW of Zagreb.

SW part of the castle and view of Plješivica

Through centuries, in numerous historical documents, Okić was mentioned under many different name variations: Ochlylich, Ochinz, Achus, Ochus, Okiz, Oklych, Ochlytz, Ochytz… Many discussions have been held concerning the etimology of its name: I. Kukuljević argues that the name “Oklich” derives from the word “oklinak” (cleared area at the top or at the foot of a hill) while Ivan Mažuranić thinks that the name comes from the word “okol” (term for different types of fences) which can also signify military camp so its original name would be “Ok(o)lich”, as it is written in some of the oldest documents.

Okić, wintertime

So, if you find yourself in this part of the world and have some spare time,  do go and visit Okić, and I'm sure you won't regret it. :-)))

View Okić in a larger map