| Lapšina Castle | |
|---|---|
| Lapšina, Međimurje County, Croatia | |
.JPG) Ruined | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Hilltop castle |
| Condition | ruins |
| Location | |
  Lapšina Castle | |
| Coordinates | 46°31′19″N16°20′13″E / 46.521944°N 16.336944°E /46.521944; 16.336944 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 16th century |
| Built by | Juraj IV Zrinski or Nikola I. Mlakovečki |
Lapšina Castle (Croatian:Dvorac Lapšina)[1] is a formerearly modernfortified structure in the village ofLapšina, municipality ofSveti Martin na Muri,Međimurje County, Croatia. Built on the top of a hill in the 16th century, it was originally the residence of the members of theMlakovečki noble family, who had some smaller estates inMeđimurje. It changed owners several times during centuries, later became poorly maintained, so that in the first decades of the 20th century only ruins remained of it.
According to available sources, the castle was built in the second half of the 16th century byJuraj IV Zrinski[2] or his knight and advisor Nikola I Mlakovečki, with whom Zrinski was in very good relations. Before the castle was built, Mlakovečki owned the nearby castleGradiščak, which, according to a legend about the unhappy love between him and the girl called Izabela Petroci,[3] was demolished. Mlakovečki lived in Lapšina until his death in 1603, and was succeeded by his son Nikola II Mlakovečki. The castle was later owned by Baron Locatelle, and then by theMarquis de Prye, aSavoyan nobleman who was given most of Međimurje by the kingCharles VI of Habsburg.
The castle was located near the banks of theMura river, on an elevated site, at 179 meters above sea level, which made it easier to defend against theTurkish threat that existed at the time of its construction. The distance from Sveti Martin na Muri was about 2 kilometers to the west. The castle was relatively large, with an indentedground plan, with several defensivetowers, and all its roof parts were covered with tiles.
In 1698, the castle passed into the hands of the nobleman Baltazar III Patačić, and with the arrival of theAlthann family as the owners of Međimurje, they took over the entire Lapšina estate with the accompanying castle. Before that, Lapšina was devastated in 1708 by the Hungarian army whose commander wasFrancis II Rákóczi, grandson ofPetar Zrinski, earlier proprietor of Međimurje. The castle is mentioned in documents as early as 1768,[4] after which there is no more available information about it for a long time. After the departure of the Althann counts, the castle building fell into disrepair and was ruined to itsfoundations by the 1930s.[5] The building material was used to build houses for the surrounding population.
