Grobnik Castle

The name Grobnik and its representatives are mentioned in 1288 in the Law Codex of Vinodol, one of the most significant documents of law of feudal Europe, and which is written in both Glagolitic and Croatian languages. The fortified castle was built in the Early Middle Ages. Its oldest part is the southwest tower with the former Chapel of St Helen on the ground floor, where Romanesque and Gothic elements are visible. From the 15th to the 18th century, the castle was expanded and upgraded, especially in the time of the Frankopans and Petar Zrinski, which is evident by the engraved years of 1442 and 1664. The core of the castle has the ground plan in the shape of a triangle with towers at the corners, and the outer ring of fortifications was strengthened with towers and half towers, of which the southwest one has been preserved. In the arcade courtyard of the castle there is a Gothic wellhead with the coat of arms of Krk's Frankopans and the Krbava Counts from the 15th century. On the highest elevation alongside the castle is also the parish church with a tall bell tower, which dominates the settlement. For the Frankopans Grobnik also had great emotional importance. At the time of the violent intrusions by the Ottomans, after the death of his brother Nikola on the Krbava Field in 1493, Bernardin Frankopan of Grobnik often stayed in Grobnik right up until his death. Grobnik later passed from the hands of the Frankopans to their relatives the Zrinskis. When in 1671 Habsburg Vienna ordered the death of Ban Petar Zrinski, the rich Grobnik was plundered and handed over to the royal Hungarian Chamber. A folk legend connected to the arrival of the Counts of Krk also bear witness to life in Grobnik. One of them, as had already featured in feudal stories, had fallen in love with a beautiful village girl Lucy, who had rejected him, not wanting to enter the castle with him. When he ordered a guard to deliver her, she ran away. Later, when on the rocks above the Rječina, seeing that she wouldn’t escape, she threw herself into the chasm. The place from where she jumped is still called ‘Lucinski vir’ (Lucy’s Spring) today.