Prozor Castle

Prozor Castle, locally known as Tvrđava Prozor, lies above the town of Vrlika, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

A smaller fortification preceded the present castle. It is suspected that this fortification was already founded by the Illyrian tribe of the Dalmatae, well before the arrival of the Romans.

In 1406, that predecessor was called 'Castrum Werhlychky' and gifted by Ladislaus of Naples, King of Naples, Hungary, and Croatia, to his deputy; Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić. Hrvoje was one of the most powerful Bosnian noblemen of his time. He then enlarged and strengthened the castle to be able to defend the area against Ottoman invasions. Since then, the castle was known as 'Prozor', meaning 'window' in Croatian. Together with the castles of Glavaš and Potravnik it formed a small defensive chain of castles in the south of the Kingdom of Croatia.

Hrvoje died in 1416 and the castle passed to Ivaniš Nelipić, a powerful Croatian nobleman. When he died in 1435 it passed, through the marriage of his daughter, to the Frankopan family. The castle became a contested possession and then passed through several hands.

In 1522, during the Hundred Years' Croatian-Ottoman War, Prozor Castle was taken by the Ottomans. They infamously slaughtered locals who had sought refuge in the castle, while sparing the mercenary soldiers that had surrendered after defending the castle. The Ottomans held it until 1688.

Later under the reign of the Austrian Empire the castle lost its strategic importance, although one source stated that it was already destroyed in 1715.

The castle is situated on an isolated rock, detached from the cliffs of the Svilaja mountain range. It towers some 200 meters above the town.

Prozor Castle is freely accessible. A very nice castle ruin.

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