Veliki Tabor Castle

Veliki Tabor Castle crowns a hill in the Zagorje region of northwestern Croatia, near the village of Desinić, and ranks among the best-preserved early Renaissance fortresses in the country. Its distinctive pentagonal layout with semicircular corner towers and an arcaded courtyard was developed in the early 16th century under the noble Ratkaj family. The castle is inseparable from the legend of Veronika of Desinić: according to local tradition, Duke Frederick II of Celje had the young noblewoman — who had secretly married his son Ulrich — walled into the castle after her death, a tale that lends the site an enduring gothic atmosphere. From the hilltop, visitors look out over the rolling vineyards and forested ridges of the Zagorje. The castle today houses a regional history museum and appears on Croatia's tentative UNESCO World Heritage list.