The Golubovec castle in Donja Stubica is one of the most valuable Croatian castles of the late Baroque period. Due to its great architectural, historic and environmental value it was declared a cultural and natural monument of national interest.
The construction of the castle was commissioned around 1800 by Lady Regina Domjanić, who became Countess Drašković by marriage. However, as soon as 1804, her heirs sold it to the bishop Maksimilian Vrhovac. The bishop renovated the castle and also bought the nearby estate Donji Golubovec, a manor with smaller estate buildings. He expanded the manor by adding other buildings and made it a grange of the Golubovec castle. After his death, the castle changed owners and went through a period of stagnation, until it became the property of the Baron Levin Rauch who renovated and modernised it.
After the Second World War, Golubovec suffered the same destiny as most Croatian castles, and began to decline. Thanks to the Kajkaviana Society, the castle was not entirely devastated and in 1996 it opened its doors to visitors. Ever since, concerts, litterary evenings, symposia, exhibitions and other events have been taking place there. Golubovec, as a complex made of a castle, a park, a forest and Vilinske poljane (Fairies’ Meadows), offers various contents and tourist attractions. Some of those attractions are partially used, while others are still in plans and are expected to be brought to life in the future.
Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, a permanent exhibition entitled Kajkaviana croatica was opened in Stubički Golubovec in 2002, representing a more modest version of the previously planned museum of kajkavian book.
The extent of its books holdings makes the Kajkaviana Collection one of the richest and most valuable collections in the territory of Croatian Zagorje, while the size and rarity of its kajkavian literary materials make it certainly one of the richest in Croatia.
You can find more information on the Kajkaviana Collection at the website of the Literary Society of the Krapina-Zagorje County - www.kdkz.hr / special libraries.
