Top 5 Castles around Grad Pazin

In front of the castle there are numerous information boards.

Pazin Castle is a well-protected fortress located on the edge of the Pazinčica River ravine, and is also the largest and best-preserved fortress in Istria. It is first mentioned in 983, in the deed of gift by which King Otto II granted the castle to the Bishop of Poreč. Over the next two centuries, the castle changed hands frequently; the daughter of Meinhard von Schwarzenburg, the castle's owner, brought the building as a dowry to the Counts of Gorizia, who owned it until 1374. In the same year, the castle was taken over by the Habsburgs, who, from behind its mighty walls, governed the entire Istrian hinterland, or the County of Pazin. The castle's glory and strength are also evidenced by the fact that it was not conquered during the war against Venice. The inhabitants of Pazin enjoyed considerable autonomy and freedom at that time, unlike the peasants who lived in the surrounding territories. In the 17th century, the castle was purchased by the Marquis Montecuccoli of Modena. The fiefdom remained his property until the mid-19th century, while the fortress remained his until 1945. During World War II, in September-October 1943 and again in April-May 1945, Montecuccoli Castle served as the headquarters of the OZNA (Tito's secret police) and the "People's Tribunals." It also served as a trial site, a place of imprisonment and torture for Istrian Italians. They were then eliminated by being thrown into the sinkhole (foiba) or, more simply, thrown into the ravine of the Foiba stream from the castle windows or the parapets of the square. The remains of the bodies—already battered by the impact with the rock faces and the branches of the vegetation growing on the cliffs—resurfaced a long distance after their underground passage through the Foiba, reaching the sea between Rovinj and Vrsar.

Located in central Istria, Pazin (Pisino in Italian) is a town of ancient charm, known for its imposing castle overlooking the spectacular karst chasm. Its history begins in 983, when it is mentioned as Castrum Pisinum. The village grew up around the castle, which over the centuries became the seat of the County of Pazin, an important bastion of the Holy Roman Empire. Unlike much of Istria, under Venetian rule, Pazin remained tied to the Austrian Habsburgs for a long time (from 1374 to 1918). After the First World War, it passed to the Kingdom of Italy, then to Yugoslavia in 1945, and finally, since 1991, to independent Croatia. Today, Pazin is considered the historical capital of the Istrian hinterland, also famous thanks to Jules Verne, who set some scenes of his novel Mathias Sandorf here.

The toponym is likely of Celtic origin. Its strategic location made it one of the defensive centers in the Pazin belt, becoming first the property of the bishops of Pedena, then of the Counts of Istria until 1511, when it was briefly conquered by the Venetians. It then remained under the control of the Habsburgs—except for a brief period of French rule—until the end of the First World War, when it was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy. After the Second World War, it was annexed by Yugoslavia. According to the testimony of Father Francesco Dapiran, at least 30 political opponents of the Yugoslav communist regime were killed in the Lindar bauxite quarry after 1945. In 1813, Istria rose up against French rule, led by Captain Giuseppe Lazzarich, who managed to capture soldiers from a battalion of Napoleon's army in Vermo, heading toward Fiume, with the aim of defeating the Austrian General Laval Nugent, who had occupied the capital of Carnaro. A commemoration of this episode is the sawn-off barrel of a falconet, protruding from a loophole in a castle bastion.

At the foot of the northern ramparts of Pazin Castle there is an extremely valuable sequence of residential buildings in the late Gothic and Renaissance styles. These were the houses of the officials of the Pazin and Istria County who performed their duties within the castle itself, and therefore these buildings should be considered an integral part of Pazin Castle and treated accordingly. These buildings were built within the former walled suburb of the castle, and the remains of the ramparts are hidden within the structures of the eastern row of buildings. The architectural elements visible today were mostly built in the 16th century, but closer analysis would certainly reveal older structures given the earlier construction of the suburban ramparts. Some of the buildings were also rebuilt several times in later centuries.

Magnificent gorge with zipline

Since this is a museum, you can only see a little of the castle

The fort houses a local museum with 4 permanent exhibitions. Some descriptions are also in German. The entrance fee of €3.32 per adult can only be paid in cash. One may have doubts as to whether this is justified.