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Trakoscan |
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Trakoscan
was built in the 13th century within Croatia's
northwestern fortification system, as a
rather small observation fortress for monitoring
the road from Ptuj to Bednja Valley.
According
to a legend, Trakoscan was named after another
fortification (arx Thacorum) that was allegedly
there back in antiquity. Another source claims
that it was named after the knights of Drachenstein
who were in control of the region in early
Middle Ages.
The toponym was first mentioned
in written records in 1334. It is not known
who its owners were in the first years
of its existence. As of the end of the
14th c., it was owned by the Counts of
Celje, who were in charge of the entire
Zagorje County. The family soon became
extinct, and Trakoscan shared the fate
of their other burgs and estates that were
divided and kept changing owners. In these
divisions, Trakoscan was, as a whole, first
owned by an army leader by the name of
Jan Vitovac, then by Ivanis Korvin, who
gave it to his deputy warden Ivan Gyulay.
The family kept the castle throughout three
generations, and became extinct in 1566,
after which the ownership was taken over
by the state.
King Maximilian gave the estate
to Juraj Draskovic (1525-1587) for services
rendered, first personally, and then as
family heritage. This was how, in 1584,
the Draskovic
family finally came into possession
of Trakoscan.
In the second half of the
18th c., when the building of manors was
flourishing in Hrvatsko Zagorje, Trakoscan
was abandoned. Neglected, it started dilapidating
rapidly. It was only towards the middle
of the 19th c. that the family became interested
once again in its estate, in the Romanticist
spirit of return to nature and family traditions.
In this spirit, the deputy marshal Juraj
V. Draskovic turned the castle into a residential
manor-house, while the surrounding park
was turned into Romanticist pleasure grounds.
The generations that followed were staying
at the castle from time to time all the
way until 1944 when they immigrated to
Austria. Soon after that, the castle became
nationalized. The Museum with collections
on permanent display was established in
1953. The castle is today owned by the
Republic of Croatia.
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