Veliki Tabor Castle

Veliki Tabor is a fortress and museum in northwest Croatia, dating from the 12th century. The castle gained its final appearance in the 16th century.

Most of it was built by the Croatian noble family Rattkay, in whose ownership it remained till 1793.

It stands in the region of Zagorje near Desinić, 8 km west of Pregrada, 219 m above sea level. It has around 3,340 sqm. The castle is owned by the state, which manages it as a museum and a tourist site.

The oldest part of the castle is the Five-Cornered Tower, built in the twelfth century. The other towers date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The entrance complex was built around 1820. The Croatian painter Oton Iveković owned the castle from 1927 to 1935. The roof consists of twelve different materials. The castle interior has galleries with round pillars. There is a large well, 31 m deep, and a former wine cellar. The large hall is decorated with halberds. The castle chapel on the first floor contains the skull of the legendary Veronika of Desinić.

The collections in the exhibition spaces include old vehicles, ethnographic items, the first manufacture of medicines, swords and armor, paintings and pottery, as well as a presentation of the noble Ratkaj family which used to own the castle.

Since 2002, Veliki Tabor has been the venue of an international festival of short films.

The castle has been undergoing renovations since 6 November 2008, and has been closed to public since. The renovation works were finished in November 2011.