Novigrad, Frankopan Castle
The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but from the Vinodol Code, it is clear that by 1288 it already belonged to the Frankopan noble family and remained unchanged until 1761. After the execution of Fran Krsto Frankopan and Petar Zrinski in Wiener Neustadt in 1671, their estates became spoils of feudal lords. In 1685, the Hungarian Chamber leased Novi to Baron Franjo Rigoni. This handover document describes the town and lists its inventory, mentioning, among other things, breweries and warehouses on the ground floor of the fortress, including even the warehouses of the Pauline monks.
In 1692, the Hungarian Chamber sold all Zrinski-Frankopan coastal estates to the Austrian Chamber for 500,000 forints, and thus, that same year, Novi came under Austrian rule. In 1749, Novi changed hands again and came under the administration of the Viennese Deputation, more precisely under the Banco-Gefôöhlen Administration in Herzogthum Krain und Litorale Austriaticum with headquarters in Ljubljana. On August 3, 1761, the bank administration proposed to the deputation in Vienna that two-thirds of the Novljanski Kaštel be demolished due to high maintenance costs, explaining that one-third would be sufficient for the castellan’s residence.
Thus, the old Frankopan Castle was reduced to ruins, which still today, though deteriorated and devalued, enclose the western side of the main square in Novi Vinodolski. On the new stone pavement of the square, the foundations of the round tower, or rondel as the locals call it, are marked.
