engleski

Post-COVID architectural heritage routes: medieval fortified dwellings in Croatia

The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, against which the humanity does not have vaccination nor immunity, made the world helpless. By now, our only defense method is social distancing and isolation. This reminds us on the past, especially on the Middle Ages, when feudal lords constructed their fortified dwellings on isolated, remote places. The location of a castle was always carefully chosen, according to its defensive function, usually more important than its dwelling function. Therefore, the castles were often built high in the mountains, on the dominant locations, in order to control possible enemies approaching. Nowadays their ruins still offer stunning views on beautiful landscapes. Medieval castle-ruins in continental Croatia, dispersed in the nature, are “open air architecture” - in the sense that they have lost their roofs, so when inside them a visitor is still “outdoors”. This makes them an ideal touristic attraction in the post-COVID time. Considering the great potential of medieval castle-ruins in north-western Croatia for cultural tourism, especially in the post-COVID period, we proposed to form cultural-natural routes which would connect architectural heritage – medieval castles within the region - and natural landmarks. One of the cultural routes would connect the castles constructed along the valley and gorges of the river Sutla – once the border of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire. Among many castle-ruins in the region, we analyzed the architectural structures of three castles: Medvedgrad, Cesargrad and Kostel-grad. They have similar concept: they were built on steep hills ; they had two rings of defense walls and mighty towers ; their inner cores with residential quarters (palas), enclosed with inner ring of walls, are the oldest, but best preserved parts of the castles. The plans of the precincts differ because they are adapted to the topography. All the analyzed castles were built on the strategically important positions. The exact time of construction cannot be asserted based on preserved historical sources. Most Croatian art-historians believe that these castles were constructed at the mid-13th century, in the period of dynastic wars that the Hungarian king Béla IV waged against the Holy Roman Empire ; some of them believe that they were built for guarding the border. This is a relatively new hypothesis: before it was believed that these castles were constructed in the king Béla's campaign of castle building immediately after the Mongols' invasion. The castles on the border seem to have been built in the same period, for the same reason ; they have similar architectural characteristics, but they have also different stories. By connecting the castles with cultural-natural routes, complementing the visit with the narrative supported by virtual reality and augmented reality, we can make the “minor” cultural properties more attractive. This is especially important in the post-COVID-19 period, when crowds have to be avoided: visiting remote and isolated cultural properties and walking in nature is a sustainable way of tourism in our “New Normal” period in which social distancing and isolation are desirable.

Post-COVID cultural routes ; architectural heritage ; outdoor education ; isolated dwelling ; Croatian medieval castles

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