Culture

Oršić Castle

The Oršić castle in Gornja Stubica is a Baroque castle which was constructed in 1756 at the site of an older medieaval fortress by Count Krsto Oršić (1718 – 1782), a member of the Oršić aristocratic family. The new castle did not have a defense purposes any more, and was used instead solely for living.

The castle's plan is an L-shape, and the third wing used to be connected to the older fortress. Viewed from the yard side, the wings open in arcades which follow the line of the corridor, and the outer façades are simple, with rithmicly spaced windows and rustic details on the corners.

After the large earthquake in the 19th century, a clacissist portico with tympanum and Doric pillars was added to the castle. The chapel, considered to be the best preserved of the whole castle, contains illusionist mural paintings, an allegoric depiction of the four continents, as well as painted Baroque altar depicting scenes from the life of Saint Francis Xavier, attributed to the famous master Anton Lerhinger and considered to be some of the best Baroque paintings.

The Oršić castle was a feudal residence until 1924, when the last members of the Oršić family left. Several rooms of the castle housed an elementary school for a while, and they were also used by a local peasants’ cooperative. At the end of 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, the castle was completely renovated and the Peasants’ Revolt Museum has been housed there ever since. There is a decorative parterre garden around the castle, while the surrounding area was made into a landscaped park in the 1960s, containing local and exotic plant species. A monument to Matija Gubec and the Peasants’ Revolt, made by sculpturer Antun Augustinčić, also makes part of the park.