Grižane Castle
When the king's commissioners listed the estates of the Frankopans and Zrinskis after the failure of the Conspiracy in 1671, they referred to Grižane Castle as a “castle with a small town.” However, after it was plundered, it quickly lost that status. The first recorded mention of the castle, located between the settlements of Grižane and Belgrad, dates back to 1225. Although it is not the oldest fortress of the Krk princes of the Frankopan family, it was certainly the most unfortunate.
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Not even the fact that Grižane was once governed by Martin Frankopan, known as "the Pious," in 1449, helped its fate. He was the founder of the port of Crikvenica and demonstrated his religious devotion by granting the castle to the Franciscan monastery of Trsat. However, nature was relentless—when an earthquake struck Vinodol in 1323, the castle was damaged. Later, a landslide formed at its location, leading some to say that despite prayers, even God had forgotten it.
History was equally unforgiving, and the road to oblivion was swift. Chroniclers note that in the 16th century, the fortress belonged to Bernardin Frankopan, and by the mid-17th century, it was under the Zrinski family. Its fate was sealed in 1671 when it was listed among the confiscated properties. At that time, Grižane lost all its privileges and was most likely abandoned by the late 18th century.
The castle had an irregular quadrilateral shape with round towers at its corners. Its irregular construction was dictated by the specific terrain, as it stood on porous ground, built against the rugged cliffs—known as "griže" or living rock—after which the town was named.