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CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN CROATIA
Site name:
Stari grad Vrbovec (Vrbovec Castle)
Position:
Klenovec Humski
Place/Municipality:
Hum na Sutli
Head of excavations:
Tatjana Tkalčec, PhD
Excavation period:
1 st – 21 st October 2015
Type of excavation:
Systematic rescue archaeological
and conservation research
Chronological and cultural
attribution of the site:
the Middle Ages, 12 th -16 th century
THE VRBOVEC CASTLE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND CONSERVATION RESEARCHES
The Vrbovec Castle is located near Klenovec Humski, in the north-westernmost
part of Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is situated on a prominent conical hill, locally
called Veliki Gradiš or Veliko Gradišće, above the Sutla River valley. According
to historical sources, the castle must have been built before the mid-1260s,
when it became the seat of a small county. Indirect historical data have shown
that Vrbovec Castle had a significant administrative importance, which is also
evident in the fact that the entire Vrbovec archdeaconry was named after it.
Even though historical sources explicitly mention the castle rather late (only
in 1334), archaeological excavation has shown that it was actually built much
earlier, in the late 12 th or early 13 th century. Some finds suggest there might
have been a town built of wood, prior to the castle built of stone, at the same
location. The preserved Romanesque castle core consists of a northern castle
hall on the ground level, divided into two parts (but later divided into three
separate rooms) and a perimeter wall two meters wide, which was probably
connected to an even older stone tower in the south. This design meant that
the castle core enclosed a courtyard with a cistern in the south-western part.
Already during the 13 th century, and later throughout the 14 th and 15 th centuries,
additions and alterations were made (the entrance room alongside the
north-eastern part of the castle, a smaller trapezoidal room in the eastern
part of the castle core and traces of a stone built room alongside the western
perimeter wall). More significant alterations were made to the defence-tower,
such as walls being added to its interior, courtyard area. Furthermore, at the
end of the Middle Ages, the tower was fortified by lining up large stone blocks
obliquely and in regular rows. Later additions in fact prevented archaeologists
from tracing the layout of the original, initial tower. The abundance and
diversity of archaeological finds indicate a busy life in the castle, especially in
the 13 th and later in the 15 th century. The phases of the Kőszegi family, of the
Counts of Celje, and later of Matthias Corvinus, Jan Vitovec and John Corvinus
can be recognized. Even though the medieval castle was demolished in the
late 15 th century, it came back to life in the first half of the 16 th century, when a
wooden tower was erected on its ruins. The tower’s inventory (tile stoves with
ornamented stove tiles) and other finds of luxurious items, together with layers
of arson and fire, suggest that this stratum of life can be associated with
the power struggle between the Kotvić and Rattkay noble families.
The excavation of the castle began in 1987 and 1994 with test archaeological
excavation conducted by the Institute of Archaeology, and further excavation
has been conducted continuously and systematically since 2001. Simultaneously
with the excavation, conservation work on the discovered architecture
has also been conducted continuously since 2004. During the past two seasons,
conservation and archaeological work has been conducted primarily
on the area of the grand tower. A plethora of layers, different architectural
phases, discovered fragments of pottery vessels and stove tiles, together with
fragments of metal, glass and other finds, round up the picture of the castle.
Moreover, all this adds to our knowledge of the living standard and the way of
life of the medieval secular elite on the edge between the Kingdom of Croatia
and Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire.
Translated by Lucija Vrhovski