The Visovac Monastery was established in the 14th century by Augustinian monks, who erected a small monastery and church on the island dedicated to the Apostle Paul. In 1445, it was enlarged and adapted by Franciscans, who settled on the island having withdrawn from parts of Bosnia when invading Turks had taken over. A new monastery was constructed in the 18th century.
The oldest preserved part of the current complex dates from the 14th century. The monastery houses a historically significant collection of Christian books and a rich library containing many historical manuscripts and rare books, including a rare incunabula of Aesop's fables (Brescia 1487) printed by the Lastovo printer Dobrić Dobričević, and a collection of documents known as 'the sultan's edicts'. A sabre once belonging to Vuk Mandušić, one of the best-loved heroes of Serbian epic poetry, is also housed at Visovac.
References:The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.