Stari grad Krapina

Stari grad, the Old Town of Krapina, is a ruined medieval fortress on the ridge directly above the town of Krapina in Hrvatsko Zagorje, in the north of Croatia close to the Slovenian border. It sits on the hill that overlooks the small valley town, and the position tells you why it was built: from here the approach along the Krapinica valley and the road toward the Sutla river could be watched and controlled. Krapina lay in a frontier zone in the Middle Ages, and fortifications like this were part of the network of noble castles that still marks the Zagorje landscape.

Over the centuries the castle belonged to several noble families and was the centre of a surrounding estate, but it lost its military role and was gradually abandoned. What remains are stretches of old walls and foundations, and a later building of two floors from the nineteenth century that stands on the high point. It is not a complete castle you can walk through room by room, and visitors should expect a ruin and a viewpoint rather than a furnished interior. The charm lies in the quiet atmosphere of an old hilltop that has returned to nature, with grass, trees and old masonry.

The view is the main reward. From the top you look down over the roofs of Krapina, the church towers and the wooded hills of Zagorje that roll out in all directions. It is a good place to see how the town grew along the stream below and to get your bearings before exploring the streets. The address is Starogradska ul 4, and the site is a short climb from the town centre by foot, which makes it easy to fit in between other sights.

A visit takes less than an hour, so it combines well with the Krapina Neanderthal Museum on Hušnjakovo hill, which is one of the leading prehistoric sites in Europe, since the remains of Neanderthals found in the rock shelter there, dating to around 130,000 years ago, were studied by the palaeontologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger from 1899. The Krapina Medieval Fortress entry covers the same hill, so read the two together. Together the museum and the old fort give a short course in the deep and recent past of the town.

Wear comfortable shoes, since the paths can be uneven and slippery after rain, and bring a camera for the panorama. It suits families with older children, walkers and anyone curious about the quieter castles of Zagorje.