Kastel or Castle beside the Adriatic seafront at Krk Town, Krk island, Croatia. It was built by the powerful Frankopan family between the 1100s and 1300s to defend the town from naval attacks.


Krk Town, Krk island, Croatia: the ruined medieval Castle of the Krk Counts was built by the Croatian Frankopan or Francopan family between the 12th and 14th centuries chiefly to defend the town from naval attacks. The roofless fortress, here seen from its seaward side, is a square stone structure with substantial crenellated curtain walls rising to a height of nine meters. The castle was skilfully incorporated into Krk's ancient Roman city walls and in times of danger, it was a relatively safe refuge for both soldiers and citizens. The castle's oldest tower, raised in 1191, was used as the Frankopan court house. The Frankopans claimed to have originated as a branch of Italy's aristocratic Frangipani family. They settled at Krk in the 13th century, becoming one of the most powerful families in Croatian history. They changed their surname to Frankopan in 1430, adopting a coat of arms showing two lions breaking a piece of bread (from the Latin 'frangere panem', break bread). Although at different times ultimate control of Krk rested either with Venice or with Hungary-Croatia, the Frankopan dynasty expanded into eight branches and maintained its position as Croatia's ruling feudal family until 1671, when the last of the line was executed in Vienna. Krk Town, also known as Krk City, is one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic Sea. It has been continuously inhabited since ancient times by Illyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Austrians. Remains of Roman buildings, including a Temple of Venus, survive in the old town, as well as remnants of Venetian city walls.


Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Krk Town, Krk island, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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