Discover Croatia: Trakošćan castle is a travel post about our visit to the most beautiful castle in Croatia. Trakošćan castle is situated in northwestern Croatian region of Hrvatsko Zagorje close to another gorgeous castle (Veliki Tabor) and a baroque town of Varaždin, and just over an hour away from capital Zagreb.

About Trakošćan castle

Trakošćan castle dates back to 13^th century. It was owned by Counts of Celje, a noble family from nearby Slovenia. As it usually happens, after the death of the last family member, the castle changed hands for centuries until King Maximilian of Habsburg Empire gave it to Juraj II Drašković in 16^th century as a token of gratitude for his service. Juraj II Drašković was a cardinal and a Ban (viceroy) of Croatia. Thus the castle remained in the hands of Croatian noble family Drašković until the middle of 20^th century. Today the castle is an important cultural heritage and it is owned by the state. You can walk freely around the park-forest and around the artificial lake below the castle (the lake is still devoid of water due to some cleaning works). If you want to enter the castle and see its permanent exhibitions and rooms full of furniture and art then you have to buy the ticket. For information about opening hours and ticket prices click here. It is strictly forbidden to take any photos inside the castle rooms.

Our visit to Trakošćan castle

We stayed at Trakošćan hotel below Trakošćan castle for Easter weekend. Our room had a direct view of stunning Trakošćan castle which looked like a floating white island in the dark. Kids loved this hotel with its small swimming pool, playroom and organized Easter egg hunt. We were very satisfied with its delicious meals and other hotel amenities.

The weather was more appropriate for autumn than early spring so the hotel’s and castle’s surroundings weren’t as verdant and lush as I’d seen in many photos.

On Easter we walked up to Trakošćan castle. There’s a visitor center, a restaurant and a gift shop below the castle. It takes you perhaps 10-15 minutes to get to the top of the hill through the park and forest. Unfortunately, the beautiful lake below the castle was empty. It’s an artificial lake and it was drained to clean the bottom.

We walked up the hill to the castle. The castle has several levels/floors. Throughout the centuries other towers and rooms were added to the main part which was a Romanesque fortification consisting of a housing unit, a small fortified yard, and a high tower. The castle’s present appearance is a Neo-Gothic style due to its renovation in 19^th century. I was surprised by the no photography allowed sign. There was a security guard as well and he admonished other visitors for taking photos. This wasn’t my first visit to Trakošćan castle. I visited it when I was 12 years old and now I know why I only have a photo of the main entrance of the castle from that visit and no photo of its interiors since taking photos was obviously forbidden even then. This is not the case with other castles in Croatia.

Our kids have become accustomed to visiting castles with us. Even though they were only 3 and 5 years old at the time of this visit they were quite curios about the many displays in the rooms. Different swords and guns but also kitchen utensils sparked my kids’ interest. I showed them many family portraits and briefly discussed different styles and looks. All museum objects date from 15^th to 19^th century. Of course, my kids also ran from one room to anther and were impatient at times so we couldn’t really read all the information below some displays. Many rooms have the original furniture. It’s definitely the best furnished castle in Croatia.

After we finished with our wander through the castle we descended from the castle hill. We didn’t walk around the lake since it was devoid of water. Our kids implored us to buy them wooden swords in the gift shop so we eventually caved in.

We all liked Trakošćan castle and I wouldn’t mind visiting it again.

We visited Trakošćan castle in April 2023. The castle was then opened on Easter.