It is one of the most important ancient monuments and part of the architectural heritage of northwestern Croatia from the 12th to 17th centuries. And this is not only an interesting object for studying the military and peaceful history of the city, but also a very, I would say, an unusual place that allows you to feel the very spirit of medieval antiquity and at the same time admire the sea and the mountains of the Croatian Zagorje. They say that looking at the sea is boring, but not at the mountains. There is also an opposite opinion - different people, different judgments. But this place can quite reconcile both those and others, and who is tired of the mountains, and the sea may well look at the castle!
Looked and bathed, bathed - and looked again
As I already wrote in the previous article, a lot of people from all over Europe come to the island of Krk, in the same town of Niznice. In addition to the many apartment houses opposite Bella Kamik, there is a campsite for car travelers with wooden houses, a private beach, shops, cafes and barbecue areas. Here you can also rent a car (or you can rent a boat or a yacht!) And set off to travel around the island. Of course, both churches and castles, it is quite chamber, although many are very ancient. These are not the Welsh castles of Conwy and Carnarvon, and not the French Carcassonne, but having visited these castles, you will not be able to refresh yourself in the sea with all your desire (although Welsh castles stand by the water, but it is very cold there, even in summer!), and here it is everywhere around you, because you are on an island in the middle of the sea!
What was "after Rome"
However, first, let's get acquainted with what happened in the lands of Croatia at a time when the Roman Empire perished and the Great Migration of Nations mixed many tribes and peoples in Europe. It was then that the Croats appeared here, but where they came from - only God knows!
In their movement from East to West, many peoples literally mixed one with the other and often found themselves thousands of kilometers from their original habitats. Rice. Angus McBrpide: “Avar warrior (left), right - Bulgarian and Slavic, dating back to the 6th century. It was then that the evil Avars "tortured" the unfortunate Dulebs, and then … they took over by the providence of God, and disappeared - "aki obre perished."
The fact is that not a single written source has survived that could tell us about the resettlement of the Croats to the lands of Illyria in the 7th century. Historians can only rely on written sources that were compiled centuries later, and what were they based on? On oral folk art, which, unfortunately, is not a very reliable "thing".
In general, according to the traditional version, the Croats belong to the South-Western group of the South Slavs, and they “descended” here “down” to the Croatian lands, from the north, from the territory of Poland and, possibly, modern Ukraine. The ancestors of the Croats, like all other early Slavic peoples, paid special attention to agriculture. But it is very possible that they were ruled by the leaders of the nomadic tribe of Alans. This is determined on the basis of language learning - agricultural terms have Slavic roots. Horse breeding - Iranian speaking! That is, the main contribution of the Alans to the culture of the Croats was some change in the philology of their language and in etymology.
Konstantin Porphyrogenitus informs …
There is a treatise "On the administration of the empire", which belongs to the pen of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, with a detailed description of the peoples and neighbors of the Byzantine Empire, written by him between 948 and 952. to instruct Roman II - his heir. It says that the southern Slavs about 600 AD moved to their place of residence from Galicia (and one of the tribes of Galicia was called so - "White Croats") and the Central Danube lowland. The Slavs were led by representatives of the Avar nomadic tribes, who created the Avar Kaganate on the lands of Croatia and Pannonia. The settlers completed their journey in Dalmatia, which at that time belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire. The treatise says that five brothers came to Dalmatia: Klukosha, Lobela, Kosencha, Mühlo and Hrvata and their two sisters, Tuga and Buga.
Around 620, a second wave of immigrants arrived, and the Byzantine emperor Heraclius asked the Croats to oppose the Avars who threatened Byzantium. It is possible that we are talking about the event of 623, when the leader of the Slavs Samo raised an uprising against the Avars and defeated them. But there are other sources that do not confirm what is written in the treatise "On the government of the empire" about the arrival of Croats in Dalmatia. From them we can conclude that the Croats are the Slavs who remained in Dalmatia, who came here together with the Goths under the leadership of the leader Totila. The Chronicle of Dukli also reports that Croats and Goths were by no means on friendly terms, but at enmity with each other. However, be that as it may, the Croats came here and occupied the lands between the Drava River, the Adriatic Sea, the eastern regions of the Roman Empire, and then created two of their principalities here: Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south.
Baptism according to the Roman canon
The book "Liber Pontificalis" (or "Book of Popes") reports that the first contact between the Roman Catholic Church and the Croats took place already in the middle of the 7th century. It was then that Pope John IV, who himself was from Dalmatia, sent the priest Martin to the lands of Dalmatia and History, who came into contact with the Croatian princes on the spot and paved the way for further relations between the papacy and the Croats.
However, the process of Christianization itself was long. It also began in the 7th century. in the south of the country, and ended in the north, in Pannonia, somewhere in the 9th century. Byzantine sources speak of a certain prince Porin, who christened his subjects under the influence of Emperor Heraclius, and later about prince Porg, who was visited by Roman missionaries and also inclined to the Christian faith. But folk legends say that they began to baptize under the Dalmatian prince Born. And it may well be that all of them - and Porin, and Porga, and Born - are one and the same person, whose name was changed in the language of different tribes.
However, even after becoming Christians, the Croats did not use Latin in divine services. All church services and rituals they held in their native language, and wrote in Glagolitic. Moreover, such permission was officially given to them by Pope Innocent IV, and only then and gradually did Latin become the church language of the Croats.
Krk castle: outside and inside
Later, being already involved in European politics and having brothers in faith in the West, the Croats themselves did not fall into dependence on anyone. Croatia was part of the empire of Charlemagne and the Italian king Lothair, they had to repel attacks by Saracen pirates, Bulgarians and Byzantines, as well as Hungarians and Mongols. Therefore, it is not surprising that many noble families in Croatia in the Middle Ages acquired castles, where they took refuge in times of disasters and invasions. And one of them is the Krk castle.
It is easy to get to it while living in Nizhnitsa. You go up to the upper part of the village to the highway passing through it, there are "bass station" - two glass bus stops opposite each other and with the one on the side facing the sea, you leave for the town of Krk. And there you go down to the sea and on its very shore, so that its waves beat against the stones of the foundation, find this castle. By the way, it is small, well-restored and kind of chamber. I personally would shoot historical films in it with knights, beautiful ladies, poisons in cups, killers behind curtains and touching declarations of love right on the wall, between the battlements, against the background of a sunset over the sea.
The castle was built about nine hundred years ago, and belonged to the noble family of the Frankopans. Today it is a tourist attraction, and it has only partially preserved its original appearance. However, you can enter the castle and walk along its walls and three towers.
The oldest part of it is the Square Tower. It is believed that initially it was the bell tower of the cathedral, but as was customary at that turbulent time, the soldiers of the city guard also carried the guard there and sounded the alarm if the city was in danger. There is an interesting inscription above the gate: "This is the work of the entire community in the Lord's year 1191".
Frescoes were found in the layers of plaster on the walls of the Square Tower, which clearly tell us that it was used for religious rituals. But then for some reason the tower was adapted for court hearings. Today, the inspection of the castle begins with it: on the first floor you will be shown the oldest monument with the name of the city of Krk inscribed on it, dating back to the 4th century AD. era, and the second presents the genealogy of the Frankopan family and an exhibition of clothing from that era.
The restored tower looks beautiful, to be sure. It is only on the stone ledges that come out of the wall that a lot of things could be mounted. Eh, you see, they did not find their own Ville Le-Duc, who restored the castle of Carcassonne in France much more realistically.
Then there are two towers: Venetian and Austrian, named after the time of their reconstruction. The Venetian Tower is called Round (because it is round) and was rebuilt when the Venetians ruled the island. From its second floor you can go to the castle walls, which offer a beautiful view of the sea and mountains. The Austrian tower was restored by the Austrians when Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there is a Romanesque window from which you can also look at the sea and … this view is very beautiful.
The walls of the castle at that time far from us were not at all the same as they are now, and this should be remembered. There was a roof above them, loopholes were covered with special shields, because of which archers and crossbowmen just shot at the enemy. There were also containers with ash - so that you could dust the eyes of those who climbed the stairs up. Stones - to throw on the head, well, containers with boiling water were brought here as needed. There was a reservoir in the castle for the supply of drinking water.
It is clear that there is nothing particularly impressive here, well, a small castle, a small exposition. But … when you are on vacation, why not rejoice at such a trifle?
Well, and you left the castle, hungry - you can immediately and have a snack. In the very first tavern or restaurant that comes along, even a word, not speaking Russian or English, order a wander. "Wandering" and that's all, although chilled white wine is desirable for it, since this is a fish dish with tomatoes. Locals eat it with polenta (corn porridge!), But in the restaurant you can also ask for mashed potato mashed potatoes, which is more familiar to Russians - "masd potato". Another option for lunch for two adults and one child is “big plate” of massals”(“large plate of mussels”) and again with white wine or local Croatian beer. It will be very interesting for you to serve it, and you will not regret that you ordered it.
