Bosnia and Herzegovina · 13th century
Ostrožac Castle (Bosnian) is a castle located in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Una-Sana Canton on the outskirts of the town of Cazin, in the village of Ostrožac. The castle dates back to the 13th century when Ostrožac was part of property of the Croatian noble house of Babonić. In 1592 it was captured by the Ottoman Empire and established as an Ottoman province of Bosnia. The castle was rebuilt between 1900 and 1906 by Mayor of Bihać Lothar Von Berks as a birthday present for his wife, member of the Habsburg family.
On a session held on 7 November 2013, the Commission for National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to designate Ostrožac Castle the National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a category of the architectural ensemble.
The castle hosts a 55-year old event known under the name Colony of sculptors, Ostrožac. This event produced a number of monumental sculptures carved in bihacite stone, of which more than 150 are left in the castle courtyard as a permanent exhibition, forming the open-air Ostrožac Sculpture Park, unique in Southeastern Europe. According to the decision of the Commission for National Monuments, the sculptures are an "integral and inalienable" part of the architectural ensemble as a wider monument.
Tourism and civic organizations of Cazin and Ostrožac use the castle grounds for shows, concerts, performances and variety of events.
For the time being, the castle complex is being repaired at slow pace and only most urgent repairs have been done, although comprehensive plans for restoration of entire complex exist.
Text adapted from “Ostrožac Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ostrožac Castle ranks #1,562 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 40 mapped in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,259 times in the last 60 days, more than 72% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Bosnia and Herzegovina compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →