FORTS

NOVIGRAD, FRANKOPANSKI KAŠTEL, (castle) of the Frankopans; it is not known when it was built, but from the Vinodol code it comes out that it belonged to the Frankopan family as early as 1288 and it preserved its original looks until 1761. After the execution of Franjo Krsto Frankopan and Petar Zrinski in wiener Neustadt in 1761, their properties were given or leased to other feudal lords. In 1685 Hungarian Chamber leased Novi out to baron Franjo Rigoni. In the record from the period the castle is described and the inventory listed. So, in the ground-floor there were wine cellars and stores, among them also the stores of the Paulist monks.
In the 1692 Hungarian Chamber sold all the coastal estates of Zrinski and Frankopan families to Austrian Chamber for 500,000 florins and thus they became their property. In 1794 Novi changes its masters again and came under the administration of so called Vienna Deputation, or more exactly "Banco-Gefôhlen Administration in Herzogthum Krain und Littorale Austriaticum" with the seat in Ljubljana. On 3rd August 1761 bank administration suggested to the deputation in Vienna to have two thirds of the Novi castle pulled down because of high maintenance costs and explaining that the remaining one third would be quite sufficient as castellan's lodgings.
So, today we can see only the remains of the castle, which being devastated and having lost most of the value of the original building, close the main square of Novi from the west. On the newly-laid stone slabs of the square the the lay-out of the round tower or "rondel", as it was known among local people, was drawn in.

NATIONAL READING ROOM AND MUSEUM
The ground-floor of the Frankopan castle houses NATIONAL LIBRARY AND READING ROOM, which was founded at the time of Illyrian Movement in 1845. The reading room played an important part in cultural life of the place and thus, out of gratitude, peolpe of Novi erected a memorial tablet to its founder, canon Josip Mazuranic. It was put on the house he was born in, in the old town, and unveiled on 9th december 1988.

The second floor of the castle houses NATIONAL MUSEUM and gallery, which was immediately upon its foundation situated in the building of former bishop's palace. This important institution was founded on 1st May 1951 by Juraj Potocnjak, a techer in Novi. Visitors can see very interesting and original exhibits witnessing the history and culture of the inhabitans of this region, their life and customs from 1288 until present day. Particulary worth seeing is the etnographic collection with genuine folk costumes and instruments, then archeological and hydroarcheological finds from Novi Vinodolski and Povile, the collection of works of art and arms, and memorial collection of writer Mazuranic.

ROMAN FORT LOPSICA
Experts bring out different assumptions. Some of them claims that Lopar was an old Roman fort, while the others assume that it was medieval town of the Frankopans. Regretfully, today there are only remains of walls as mute witnesses of the past. Although they do not say much, they must remember a lot.

The ruins of the town of lopar were well preserved until the beginning of the Second World War and the reconstruction of the town plan from that period as well as some preserved photos witness that the fort was a pentagonal buildings defended from the sea by two strong rectangular towers aabd by the two smaller ones from the north.