Old Town Samobor

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Through the centuries many kings and noblemen were the masters of the town of Samobor, from the Czech king Otokar who had it built in 1268, probably on the spot of an existing construction. Noble families Arpadović, Babonić, Anžuvinac, Frankopan, Erdody, the counts of Celje, Matija Korvin, families Ungnad, Gruber, Auersperg, Kulmer, Kiepach, Alnoch and Montecuccoli, all were upgrading the castle and all lived in it.

From the initial Romanic-Gothic castle with a huge tower, it acquired through time the late Gothic and Renaissance forms and at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century it became a Baroque style castle.

Its owners were often in conflict with the residents of the market town of Samobor proof of which is the centuries’ long legal lawsuit lasting from the 15th century to 1769. The town of Samobor, as free royal market town was outside the power range of the noblemen owning the Old Town at the time until the mistake of the King Matijaš Korvin who let the owners of the Old Town at the time to be entered in the books as the owners of the market town as well. The book with the records of the entire legal lawsuit can be found at the Samobor museum.

In the end, in 1902, deserted and ramshackle castle finally became the ownership of the market town for 5293 koruna as a tourist attraction which some film buffs remember as the location which could have been lethal for Jackie Chan filming the movie “Armour of God”. Unfortunately, years’ long efforts to prevent the destruction of the Old Town were in vain so the entry among its ruins are only at your own risk.