Povijesni prilozi, Vol. 43 No. 67, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.22586/pp.v43i67.32691
Hreljin and Ledenice, historical-spatial topography
Ratko Vučetić
Gordan Ravančić
Abstract
The fortified historical settlements of Hreljin and Ledenice are located in the Vinodol valley, a plain located between the Adriatic seacoast and the mountain area of Gorski Kotar. Vinodol was continuously settled from the Bronze Age, through Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and settlements are (where) often in the same positions. However, the eighteenth century brought some changes in spatial structures, which were stimulated by proto-industrial development and the formation of a new communication system. During the late Middle Ages, the area of Vinodol came under the administration of the Counts of Krk (later Frankopan princes), and consequently the legal status of the Vinodol settlements and their inhabitants was regulated by the Vinodol Code in 1288. The Frankopan princes were one of the magnate families of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, and the area of their rule stretched from the northern parts of Adriatic coast (including the island of Krk) way up to the Sava and Kupa rivers. Within this territory the marginal position of Vinodol regarding to the center of the Kingdom allowed the Frankopan family to create a spatial feudal manor that they managed almost independently, with minimal influence from the central royal authority. At the same time, such marginal position allowed and stipulated a mixture of cultural influences from the Mediterranean and Central European circles through the interweaving of Gothic and Renaissance stylistic features.
Medieval towns (settlements) of Ledenice and Hreljin belong to a group of nine Vinodol castles that formed a territorial and administrative entity. Both settlements were located on top of the hills, they were fortified, and had separate forts – castles, as well parish churches located inside the forts. In the eighteenth century, both Hreljin and Ledenice were abandoned, and new settlements were formed below them in the valley. Today, both settlements are in ruins, but with somewhat recognizable urban structures. The abovementioned abandonment of the settlement in the eighteenth century, resulted by the basic building and architectural structures preservation, which enables investigation of the earlier urban layers; impossible in other medieval Vinodol settlements/centers due to the (re)construction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Especially because their cartographic representation from an earlier period is missing. Previous knowledge about the inner spatial organization of these settlements is based on historical knowledge, and thorough archaeological research has not been carried out yet. Today's state of preservation enables the application of modern research methodologies, primarily the use of aerial photographs taken by a drone, combined with field research and mapping of preserved spatial structures, whereby the collected data enable comparison with urban settlements in a wider regional area.
Keywords
the Counts of Krk (Frankopan princes); Vinodol; Hreljin; Ledenice; space; topography
Hrčak ID:
324495
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2024.
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