©
zhelen
Croatia Travel Guide
©
zhelen
When you arrive in Rijeka, there are plenty of places to visit, from the Romanesque gate and the many churches, to the tower and the numerous museums. Keep a few hours for visiting the old area of Trsat, above which you can still see the remains of the castle.
Once you've walked through the town's narrow streets, go north-west and climb the 561 steps that lead up to the castle. Little by little you will see the fortress, which is made up of a restored tower and ramparts that are partly ruined. The remains of the surrounding walls run around the hillside, making it a very romantic setting where visitors can feel the history!
Inside the walls, the castle and the keep give you a totally different impression. Built by the Dukes of Frankopan in the 13th century, it was restored in the 19th century by its then owner, the Austrian Count Laval Nugent. Today it stands proud, giving the impression that it has resisted the ravages of time, contrary to its surrounding wall! Not far away, the count built a mausoleum for his family. More interestingly, the keep has a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions.
Trsat Castle is a very pleasant place: you can sit outside its cafe, watch one of the shows in the courtyard, or go to a fashion show inside. But you really should take the time to walk along the ruined walls, and clamber up the bastions to have a magnificent view of the town and port below, with the whole of the bay on the horizon.
It was while admiring this scenery that I understood how strategic is the site on which the castle had been built, so long ago: you can see the bay and the neighbouring ports from Kraljevica to Brsec, keep an eye on the ships moving on the bay, and see the beautiful, craggy landscapes of the islands of Cres and Krk. Which gives you some new ideas about places to go in Croatia...
