Dubovac Castle

About

Dubovac Castle is the oldest Karlovac monument, not just because of its ample history, but also because of the pioneer decision to preserve it in the name of collective memory. To this day the castle on the hill above the Kupa River is the most prominent landmark of the cultural and historical landscape of Karlovac. In the Middle Ages, Dubovac developed as a settlement with a fort at the cross-section of river and road routes, and in an area of dense fortified locations. It was first mentioned in 1339, when it got its first parish priest. Frequently written in Glagolitic script, the testimonies of trade and crafts, legal and school life circumstances of Dubovac burghers-freemen, were most numerous in the several decades preceding 1578, when the Osmanlis devastated its city to the ground. Although not large in area, the Dubovac estate was important economically as a regional market town. Its owners were, among others, important noble families from 1387 to 1810.