Preliminary communication
New Findings on the Original Layout and Dating of Veliki Tabor Fort
Duško Čikara
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod
Anka Ćurić
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod
Abstract
John Corvinus’ donation of feudal possession of Vrbovec to brothers Rattkay – including the town of Tabor in the western part of Zagorje County, in the 15th century governed by the Counts of Cilli and Vitovac – is confi rmed by two preserved documents. An irregularly shaped defensive wall was erected around the older, pentagonal building, along the edge of an enclosed hill plateau. It consists of four distinct massive semicircular towers connected by ramparts, featuring architectural elements of 15th-century Italian castles. The original layout of the fort was revealed in the course of conservation research conducted by the Croatian Conservation Institute (Hrvatski restauratorski zavod), which determined the tower height and storey disposition, the inclination and shape of the roof, the level of inter-storey constructions, positions of openings towards the wooden courtyard ambulatory and the shape and alternating rhythm of defensive openings on peripheral walls. It has been determined that the fort’s effi ciency was improved by transformations of defensive openings on two distinct occasions. While subsequent interventions can be dated in the second and last quarter of the 16th century, there is no record of the construction itself. The foundation and the complex building process of the Veliki Tabor fort far exceeded the possibilities and basic protective needs of a single feudal possession. The initial openings on peripheral walls, characteristic of 15th-century military architecture, strengthen the hypothesis that the Veliki Tabor fort was constructed during the reign of Matthias Corvin.
Keywords
Veliki Tabor; conservation research; original layout; Renaissance; 15th century
Hrčak ID:
188350
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2011.
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