Oršić Castle
Oršić Castle in Gornja Stubica in 1756. was built by the nobleman Krsto Oršić and his rich wife Josip, née Zichyi, on the site of a medieval fortress.
The last of the Oršićs left the castle in 1924, when the castle was sold. Today, it houses the Museum of Peasant Rebellions, whose manager Vlatka Filipčić Maligec described the history of the castle from its beginnings to the present day in the show Cultural pearls of Croatia.
Oršić Castle is a good example of the modern repurposing of historical buildings, but before we touch on its current function, can you tell us something about its origins? How did it happen that the Oršić family built a castle in Stubica?
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The way the Oršićs came to Gornja Stubica is very interesting, almost cinematic?
At 17 century, one of the Oršićs, Ivan Franjo, married Elizabeta Petričević, daughter of Jurjo Petričević from Miketinac, owner of Gornja Stubica, Jakovlj and Prazno. Elizabeth also had a brother. Elizabeth’s brother Franjo in 1658. killed his wife Katarina baroness Keglević in Stubica.
The murder attracted a lot of attention, and according to the custom of the time, her family could ask for the killer’s property to be handed over as compensation. But Petričević comes to an agreement with his sister’s husband and gives him his properties in exchange for the Petrovin property in Turopolje, which Elizabeta brought to Oršić as a dowry. The killer was never arrested, despite all the efforts of the murdered family, but the goods were confiscated for the benefit of the state. The king did not want to confirm the exchange contract, but he gave Franjo Oršić a deed for these properties. In a secret agreement, Oršić allows Petričević to continue living in Stubica, with the condition that the estate will go to the Oršićs if Petričević, who had only a small daughter, dies without a male descendant.
Franji’s son Antun also had an interesting life. He married at a very young age the beautiful and educated baroness Marija Terezia Wintershoffen, with whom he had three children. But after a few years of marriage, he sued her for infidelity and for trying to kill him with the help of magic. He was granted a divorce, which was almost unheard of at that time, and the children were taken from their mother and given to further relatives to be raised.
His young son Fridrik, riding his father’s property, gazed at the gentle golden-haired beauty Veronika. Between Veronika and Fridrik, mutual love flared up, which was not to the liking of old Herman. Despite his opposition, Fridrik and Veronika fled to the town of Fridrihštajn near Kočevje in Slovenia, where they were secretly married. Old count Herman soon found out about their wedding and sent an army with orders to capture the lovers.
protected cultural heritage
Oršić Castle was built on the site of an older castle or castle?
That’s right. It was built on the site of an older castle, the remains of which can still be seen in our yard. In recent years, we have also had archaeological excavations so that we have confirmed its exact floor plan. We also came across some finds that are now on display in the castle, and they refer to that older period, but also to the time when the Oršić family lived there.
Did the castle serve the Oršić family as a permanent residence or as a summer house?
The castle was primarily used for staying during the summer months and in the autumn days. The Oršić family also had a palace in Zagreb and a large number of castles in Croatian Zagorje. Besides the palace in Zagreb, they also had a palace in Varaždin. Although they stayed in this castle in the warmer part of the year, according to the diaries of Maksimilijan Vrhovac, it can be concluded that it was a very dear place of residence for them. He writes that he socialized with the Oršićs in his castle, which was located not far away in Stubički Golubovac.
How long did the Oršić family live in the castle?
They used the castle until 1924. when they decide to sell it and it is bought by the fruit-growing cooperative from Gornja Stubica. The local peasants collected money and bought the castle, and since then the cooperative operated in it, and the castle also housed an elementary school. It must be noted that the school in the castle operated even earlier because it was destroyed in the 1880 earthquake. the local school in Gornja Stubica was damaged, so Count Oršić allowed classes to take place in his castle. Classes took place in the castle itself until the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s of the last century, when it was decided to convert the castle into a museum.
Can we guess what life was like in the castle and which rooms it had?
We know approximately what life in the castle looked like. The ground floor was used for economic purposes, there were estate administrations, servants, etc. The first floor is called the piano nobile and it was used for the residence of the noble family. On that floor there is also a central hall that served as a gathering place. Like all such castles, the Oršić castle did not have separate corridors, but you can enter from one room to another, and all rooms can be entered from the entrance porch.
Although the Oršić castle is baroque, it also has a classicist part that was built after the earthquake in 1880. year in which the castle suffered a lot. This upgraded part is today the recognizable sight of the castle. It is a classicist portico that is entered from the park. This garden is interesting in itself precisely because it did not exist in the Baroque period. The castle in Gornja Stubica is the only castle in Zagorje that did not have a garden planted at the time of its creation. It is assumed that the reason for this was that the nature around the castle was so beautiful that it did not even need a garden. Vineyards and orchards are planted next to the castle and we still cultivate the vineyard that existed in the time of Oršić and it also forms part of our offer, and we also have our own wine that we offer to our guests at the opening of the exhibition.
Museum of Peasant Revolts
Museum of Peasant Revolts
The way the Oršićs came to Gornja Stubica is very interesting, almost cinematic?
Over time, we stopped dealing with peasant riots and tried to collect as much as possible that tells about the history and culture of Hrvatsko Zagorje, considering that Hrvatsko Zagorje does not have any other central museum. Therefore, our Cultural-Historical Collection preserves and collects everything related to the history and culture of the feudal Hrvatski Zagorje and what relates to Matija Gupac and the memory of the Peasants’ Rebellion.
We also have a collection of weapons and equipment that again covers the entire feudal period. From the very beginning, the museum had an exhibition called the Zagorje Souvenir Fair and later the Zagorje Souvenir Triennale, we also have a large collection of souvenirs that was collected during that time. Numerically, we now have the largest collection of old postcards that we collect from the entire area of Hrvatski Zagorje, as well as everything related to Matija Gupac himself.
In addition to the Ethnographic Collection, we also have the Viktorija Oršić Collection, which contains various testimonies about life in the late 19. and beginning 20th century. Our permanent lineup now covers the period from the end of the 12th century. century until the end of feudalism in Croatia in the 19th century. Through occasional exhibitions, we also present other materials and other topics related to Hrvatsko Zagorje, so an exhibition dealing with the industrial heritage of Hrvatsko Zagorje is currently underway.
250 saplings of old Croatian belina and falcon were planted
In the grounds of Oršić Castle, near the Peasant Rebellion Museum in Gornja Stubica, the restoration of a traditional vineyard is underway.
The Peasants’ Uprising Museum is the only one in Croatia that has its own traditional vineyard, and part of the permanent display in the wine cellar is dedicated to wine and viticulture, said the director of the Seljački Buns Museum. Vlatka Filipčić Maligec , while JUrica Sabol, director of the Hrvatski Zagorje Museum, pointed out that the vineyards were planted with the aim of restoring them 250 seedlings of old Croatian white and falcon. He noted that with this project they proved that revitalization of the existing heritage can be realized nice projects, which don’t always need a lot of money.
Head of the Association of Autochthonous Vine Varieties Slavko Merkas he said that the revitalization of vineyards and the planting of ancient varieties is a project that has been spending for 16 years, in cooperation with the Krapina County Chamber and the Trade Center, in order to increase and improve viticulture in the Krapina-Zagorje County, and Zdravko Jakus, the manager of the production of grapevines and vineyards of the Trgocentra pointed out that the intention is for the varieties Old Croatian Belina and Sokol to become part of the cultural heritage of this region and to protect them as such, so that they can be offered in a package with Zagorje protected delicacies, turkey with mince pies and štrukli.
Has the Oršić castle lost some of its value in all these conversions?
Unfortunately, not everything that was in the castle was preserved. The palace chapel dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier has been preserved. It stretches through the ground floor and the first floor, and it is the chapel where most of the original elements remain. The painted altar and the painted dome have been preserved. The castle was heavily damaged during the bombing in WWII. St. war. It was directly hit by a bomb so that part of the castle was destroyed. While it was used as an elementary school, it was adapted, but there was no demolition of walls, etc. so that in the architectural sense it remained in its original form. Not all stucco and wall paintings in the rooms have been preserved.
