Cambio Castle

Cambio Castle, locally known as Kaštel Cambio, lies in the town of Kaštel Kambelovac, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

After the fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, being part of the Venetian Republic, faced the danger of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners; the Split Archbishopric, monasteries and nobles from Trogir and Split, therefore wished to protect their estates and the villagers working for them. So, during the following decades they started to build 17 fortifications and fortified 12 villages along the coast of the Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split.

Cambio Castle was one of these fortifications. In 1478 the brothers Jerolimu and Antonu Cambio got permission to build a fortification from the Venetian authorities in Split. Their fortification; a round tower to which a rectangular fortified courtyard was connected, was first mentioned in 1491. It was built on a small islet and connected to the mainland by a drawbridge.

In later centuries the sea around the castle was filled in, and a village was built. The castle was transformed into a residence of the Cambio family. All that remains of the castle today is the tower, and what seems to have been a corner of the former courtyard. Nearby is also a surviving village gate.

The tower of Cambio Castle seems to stand empty, while the structures next to it are private residences. A curious castle remnant.

Gallery