Ostrovica Castle, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Ostrovica Castle is a large medieval structure situated above the small village of Ostrovica near Kulen Vakuf. Having been built on a heavily wooded ridge of a steep hill overlooking left bank of the shallow Una river, the castle was located on a strategic site connecting the northern and southern parts of the long Una valley.

The modern-day castle was most probably built during the 15th century on the foundations of ancient fortification which dates back to ancient Roman times or even earlier. In the Middle Ages, Ostrovica belonged to the Kingdom of Croatia and its Lapac County.

The first mention of the castle was in a charter from 1407, in which King Ladislaus of Naples, confirmed possession over Ostrovica to a Bosnian magnate and Grand Duke, Sandalj Hranić, who most likely rebuilt the fortress at the beginning of 15th century on a foundations of an ancient fortification, which dates back to ancient Roman times or even earlier. In 1523 it was conquered by the Ottomans.

The long period of Ottoman rule lasted until 1878. In that period the castle was enlarged and reinforced, serving as an Ottoman military stronghold. A significant enlargement of the castle occurred during the reign of sultan Ahmed I at the beginning of the 17th century. The present-day look of the castle was finally given at the beginning of the 18th century. It measures 117 meters long and 83 meters wide. The main entrance is situated on the south side, while the auxiliary one is put at the north side of the fortification.

In 1737, the fortress was unsuccessfully besieged by the army of the Habsburg Empire during the Austro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–39). Other sieges are recorded in 1560, 1698, 1737, 1789, and 1834.

It is known that in 1838 castle was still in good shape, as it was kept in that way with regular repairs, notably in 1766, 1777 and 1791. As it was abandoned in 1878, Ostrovica was gradually ruined. Today the castle is protected as National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the government and its Commission to preserve national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with its surroundings is part of Una National Park. The castle is occasionally renovated in the recent years in order to be more attractive to tourists.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Theis svane kruse (2 years ago)
Beautiful view at the top overlooking the ima river and kulelen vakuf

Leon Makovac (2 years ago)
The place is quiet, the speed and the temperature of the wind are perfect. When we arrived, there was no other people that were visiting the castle.

Albert Karsai (2 years ago)
I thought that there was a normal road to the fortress, so I took the car. But most of the road was unpaved and only slowly to drive. The last part looked so grim that I parked the car and continued the last 1.5 km by walking. Walking to the top from the village certainly is the better option, I didn't see anyone else driving that road. I don't think there's much difference in time. The fortress itself was rather disappointing, only a huge stone wall that is seen from below. Maybe there was a little bit more to see but everything was overgrown after I passed through the stone gate. The landscape was nice, though, and the view over Kulen Vakuf was great, but otherwise it's not worth the effort unless you have plenty of time and want a good hike.

Aktham Yousef (3 years ago)
It was realy adventure to be up there on the top and see the amazing view, but the problem with the way if you would go with car, no asfalt road .

Tomas Damjanovic (3 years ago)
The Ostrovica Castle (Bosnian: Stari grad Ostrovica, Croatian: Tvrđava Ostrovica, Ottoman Turkish: Ostroviçe kalesi) is a large medieval structure situated above the small village of Ostrovica near Kulen Vakuf, Bihać municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having been built on a heavily wooded ridge of a steep hill overlooking left bank of the shallow Una river, the castle was located on a strategic site connecting the northern and southern parts of the long Una valley.

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