Lapšina Castle () is a former

early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

fortified structure in the village of

Lapšina Lapšina is a village in northern Croatia, part of the Sveti Martin na Muri municipality within Međimurje County. History Lapšina is mentioned in charter issued in year 1478 as ''Lapsthin''. In the late 16th century, the nobleman House of Mlako ...

, municipality of Sveti Martin na Muri,

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; ; ) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), Međimurje. It is the smallest Croatian count ...

, Croatia. Built on the top of a hill in the 16th century, it was originally the residence of the members of the Mlakovečki noble family, who had some smaller estates in Međimurje. It changed owners several times during centuries, later became poorly maintained, so that in the first decades of the 20th century only ruins remained of it.

History

According to available sources, the castle was built in the second half of the 16th century by Juraj IV Zrinski or his knight and advisor Nikola I Mlakovečki, with whom Zrinski was in very good relations. Before the castle was built, Mlakovečki owned the nearby castle Gradiščak, which, according to a legend about the unhappy love between him and the girl called Izabela Petroci, was demolished. Mlakovečki lived in Lapšina until his death in 1603, and was succeeded by his son Nikola II Mlakovečki. The castle was later owned by Baron Locatelle, and then by the Marquis de Prye, a Savoyan nobleman who was given most of Međimurje by the king Charles VI of Habsburg. The castle was located near the banks of the Mura river, on an elevated site, at 179 meters above sea level, which made it easier to defend against the Turkish threat that existed at the time of its construction. The distance from Sveti Martin na Muri was about 2 kilometers to the west. The castle was relatively large, with an indented ground plan, with several defensive

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s, and all its roof parts were covered with tiles. In 1698, the castle passed into the hands of the nobleman Baltazar III Patačić, and with the arrival of the

Althann The House of Althann (also spelled Althan, Altham or Altheim) is the name of an ancient German noble family that originated from Lower Bavaria, whose members occupied many important political and clerical positions during the Holy Roman Empire. F ...

family as the owners of Međimurje, they took over the entire Lapšina estate with the accompanying castle. Before that, Lapšina was devastated in 1708 by the Hungarian army whose commander was

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...

, grandson of

Petar Zrinski Petar IV Zrinski () (6 June 1621 – 30 April 1671) was Ban of Croatia (Viceroy) from 1665 to 1670, general and a writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian Magnate conspiracy to ...

, earlier proprietor of Međimurje. The castle is mentioned in documents as early as 1768, after which there is no more available information about it for a long time. After the departure of the Althann counts, the castle building fell into disrepair and was ruined to its foundations by the 1930s. The building material was used to build houses for the surrounding population.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapšina Castle Ruined castles in Croatia Buildings and structures in Međimurje County 16th-century establishments in Croatia History of Međimurje

History

See also

References