Castles of Croatia -2021 -First Day Cover.

Castles of Croatia -2021 -First Day Cover.

Brezovica Manor, situated 13 km from Zagreb, is one of the most important examples of Baroque manor architecture in Croatia, although in a poor condition and without a purpose for decades. The name Brezovica is mentioned at the end of the 13th century. It is a noble estate from the end of the 14th century, and in the 16th century it was a Renaissance burg. The estate belonged to various noble families (Zrinski, Drašković, Gyulaj, etc.), of which the Counts Drašković Trakošćanski left the most visible trace.

The manor was nationalized in 1946 and until 1990 it was used for the needs of a gardening school, disco club and a restaurant, and in 2006 it was returned to the Zagreb Archdiocese. The manor house and its estate are waiting for an opportunity for a new life.

Erdödy Castle – the Renaissance castle of the Counts Erdödy in Jastrebarsko

Erdödy Castle is located on the edge of the historic centre of Jastrebarsko, a village that received the status of a free royal market in the middle of the 13th century. Construction of the castle began sometime between 1483 and 1489 and during the 16th century it was extended and took on the appearance of a Renaissance castle, which has been preserved to this day without major changes, although in poor condition. For centuries, the feudal castle and the royal market lived in coexistence with the strong influence of the noble Erdödy family.

The castle has been owned by the town of Jastrebarsko since 1936, which bought it to prevent the castle from being dismantled for the sale of building materials. Today, 85 years later, the castle is in a poor condition and in danger of collapse due to decades of lack of maintenance. The town is pinning its hopes on rebuilding the castle with EU funds.

Laduč Manor– the historicist manor of Baron Vranyczany-Dobrinović

The manor in Laduč is located in the Municipality of Brdovec, 25 km west of Zagreb, on the border of the Sava Valley and the hills of Hrvatsko Zagorje. In the vicinity of Zaprešić, there are four castles only a few kilometres apart – the westernmost is Laduč, followed by the classicist Januševec, baroque Lužnica and the historicist Novi Dvori Jelačićevi.

The castle in Laduč was built in historicist style at the end of the 19th century on the foundations of an old manor house. Baron Vranyczany-Dobrinović entrusted the design and construction to the architect Kuni Waidman. It is single-storey with a rectangular floor plan and extensions to the north. The main façade faces south and the Sava Valley, with a view of the Samobor Hills. The main architectural feature of the southern entrance façade is a large gazebo with three arches. The central space of the interior is a large lobby with a representative staircase.

Novi Dvori – the manor of the Croatian ban Josip Jelačić in Zaprešić

The Novi Dvori estate was founded in 1611 as part of the Susedgrad-Stubica manor. Since then, until the middle of the 19th century, it had many well-known noble owners such as Zrinski, Čikulin, Sermage, Festetić and Erdödy. In 1852, the castle was bought from Aleksandar Erdödy by the then Croatian ban Josip Jelačić. The estate was owned by his family until 1934, when the ban’s niece, Countess Anka Jelačić, the last descendant of the family, died. She left the estate to the Croatian people and founded four charitable foundations. After the Second World War, the foundations disappeared, as well as the continuity of life in the castle, located only 18 km from Zagreb. Up to the present day attempts have been made to bring life back to the castle and its complex in some modern form.

The complex includes a castle, a park, gardens and an orchard, numerous outbuildings and a forest park, with a total area of about 20 hectares. The castle was approached by an alley of wild chestnuts, accompanied by outbuildings, among which stands out a round winnowing barn and a three-storey granary converted into the Gallery “Skurijeni”. Ban built a neo-Gothic chapel in the park, where he was buried. In 1884, a neo-Gothic tomb of the Jelačić family was built at Hrastina Forest Park, designed by the architect Herman Bollé, who has restored the Zagreb Cathedral and built the Mirogoj arcades.

A Common Sheet was issued by Croati on 20 May 2021.