Page 180 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

178  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

rivers). The abbey was founded town after a bloody battle in
in 1204 by King Andrew II and a which Emperor Augustus was
village grew up around it in the wounded. After the conquest of
Middle Ages. The remains can the Balkans, the emperor made
be found in Opatovina Park. it the capital of the Pannonia
The nearby hot water springs Savia province and it became
(up to 78°C/172°F) were used in a trading centre.
Roman times and in the 19th It was destroyed by Attila in
century a thermal spa was 441, and in the 6th century it
established, which was was raided by the Avars and
frequented by the Emperor Slavs. The town was finally
Franz Joseph and other rebuilt by the Croats
court dignitaries. Today and became Sisak.
the spa treats rheumatic It was from here that
15th-century castle of the Frankopan and neurological Prince Ljudevit began the
counts in Ogulin problems, and the after- conquest of Croatia in
effects of incapacitating the 8th century. Sisak was
6 Ogulin injuries. The spa has three destroyed again by the
main thermal sources Hungarians in the 10th
Map C2. * 9,000. £ (047) 525 001.
n Kardinala A. Stepinca 1, (047) 532 and the water comes century, and was also
278. ∑ tz-grada-ogulina.hr from a depth of 1,500 m abandoned by the
(4,920 ft). The quality of Hercules (1st bishop, who transferred
When Marshal Tito was the water has not century AD), the see to Zagreb, but
imprisoned here in 1927 and changed since the 19th Sisak museum built a fort here. In 1593
1933 (see p44), this town became century. There are two this fort was the site of a
well known throughout Croatia. hotels in Topusko and a number battle which resulted in the first
The prison was part of a castle of private accommodations. Turkish defeat in the Balkans.
built by the Frankopan counts The town rose again nearby
in the 15th century. The castle and began to enjoy a long period
walls enclosed a large building 8 Sisak of prosperity, thanks to tolls on
with two tall towers at the ends, Map D2. * 37,000. £ (044) 524 724. river traffic. It still has some
a Gothic chapel and several @ (060) 330 060. n Rimska ulica 13a, Baroque buildings, including
houses which were built when (044) 522 655. ∑ sisakturist.com the old and new town halls.
Ogulin became a staging post A park surrounds the fortress
on the Vojna krajina (Military The city of Sisak, at the point (Stari grad) on the River Kupa,
Frontier, see p41) in 1627. Part where the rivers Kupa and Odra south of the city. The fortress
of the structure is given over to flow into the Sava, has always was built in the middle of the
the Regional Museum which played an important role in 16th century at the time of
has sections on archaeology, Croatian history. Its name has the Turkish invasions. It has a
folklore and mountaineering. changed a number of times triangular ground plan, with three
It also comprises Ivana’s House over the course of its 2,000 large round brick towers (1544–
of Fairy Tales, an interactive years of existence. It originated 55), connected by a high wall
visitor’s centre that celebrates as the Illyrian-Celtic Segestica, with openings for firearms. In
fairy tales and their creators. becoming Siscia with the the park is a beautiful traditional
A short distance from the Romans, and later Colonia Flavia farmhouse. The Civic Museum
fortified town is the Old Castle Siscia. Rome conquered the (Gradski muzej) has material
(Zulumgrad) situated near the from the Roman settlement.
Ðula abyss, a chasm formed by
the Dobra river. + Fortress
Tome Bakača Erdödyja. n (044) 811
811. Open contact for info.
7 Topusko Toplice E Civic Museum
Map D2. * 800. @ from Zagreb, Kralja Tomislava 10. Tel (044) 811 811.
Sisak, Karlovac. n Trg bana Jelačića 4, Open Apr–Sep: 10am–6pm Tue–Fri,
(044) 885 203. _ Days of Honey (Feb); 9am–noon Sat & Sun; Oct–Mar:
Folklore Day (Jun); Half Marathon 7:30am–3:30pm Tue–Fri. & ^
(Aug). ∑ turizam-topusko.com ∑ muzej-sisak.hr
The presence of a Cistercian Environs
abbey made this a centre for About 20 km (12 miles) south-
spreading Christianity in the west is Gora which, in the
Banovina area (a region of Middle Ages, was the centre of
green valleys south of Sisak, Fortress of Sisak next to the Kupa river, built a Županija (county) of the same
between the Sava and Glina in the 16th century name. The county seat was a
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p231 and p247

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