Old town Modruš, The Tržan Castle
It is a medieval fortress on a steep hill above the fortified town of Modruš on the eastern slopes of Velika Kapela, once (since the 11th century) the administrative seat of the Modruš County, and today a ruin in the southern part of Karlovac County. It reached its peak in the 14th and 15th centuries, when members of the powerful Croatian family Frankopan ruled there, and when it was the episcopal see. Bernardin Frankopan lived in Tržan-grad most probably until his death in 1529, and his successor, underaged grandson Stjepan IV. Frankopan Ozaljski, settled in Ozalj. The fortress of Tržan remained unmaintained and is slowly beginning to decay. After 1553, it was taken over by the Krajina army, and became part of the Croatian Military Border. In the following decades, there was a smaller military crew in it. There were attempts to rebuild the damaged buildings, but after 1720 the fort was completely abandoned. From then until today, Tržan-grad has been left to the ravages of time, and all that is left of it are the ruined remains of walls and towers, which protrude into the air. Additional problem is that during spring, summer and autumn it is very difficult to access to old town, which is due to the increased number of venomous snakes (Viper), and it is not recommended visiting it.
N/A Modruš, Municipality of Josipdol - Croatia, Karlovac County
Tourist experience: Culture/History
The old town of Modruš is currently not even close to its full tourism potential. This has been caused by many years of non-investment, non-maintenance and non-restoration of the ruins. All of the above is actually a consequence of insufficient financial resources of the Municipality of Josipdol.
Still, the old town has a potential to become a tourist attraction that will contribute to the offer of cultural tourism of the Municipality of Josipdol and Karlovac County, and it can, together with other cultural sites, make a complete tourism experience and cultural tourism offer of Karlovac County.
Spoken languages: English, Croatian
Experience duration: Less than 30 min.
Booking: No booking required
40-60 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: The old town is not easily accessible due to non existence of access roads, and neither the surroundings are arranged nor maintained. Also there is a big problem with the venomous snakes (Vipers). Their number is highly increasing during spring, summer and autumn.
Tourist contact: Josip Šibarić
Cultural material heritage: Historical monument, Historical palace/castle
Local contact: Ana Barković
Form filler: Juraj Randelj