Pseudokašteli kraja 15. i prve polovine 16. stoljeća u obrani od Turaka
The pseudo-castles from the end of the 15th and the first half of the 16th century in the defence against the Ottomans

Author(s): Zorislav Horvat
Subject(s): Military history, Security and defense, 15th Century, 16th Century, The Ottoman Empire, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Keywords: the defence of the Croatia against the Ottomans in the end of the 15th and in the beginning of the 16th century; Renaissance’s castle reduced in size; circular defense-tower; wooden consoles;
Summary/Abstract: During the second half of the 15th century, after the main Ottoman raids in the southern parts of Croatia and the eastern parts of Slavonia, the fortifications were constructed either to improve already existed strongholds or as truly new ones. Among those fortification undertakings the very small strongholds were also constructed and their main goal was to prevent the raids of the Ottoman akinci. Those small strongholds were constructed as reduced-in-size Renaissance castles throughout Croatia and Slavonia. They were not the only small strongholds, because various watchtowers (čardak) were also constructed during that period, but it seems that the lesser nobility mostly accepted these small strongholds because they were also suitable for living. Built on a small scale and in the late medieval customs, they actually served their purpose for a while. As it seems, the most important part of these small pseudo-castles was circular defense-tower, which purpose was military as well as residential. The rationality in construction is very obvious. Their ground-plan was reduced to the most similar shapes (circle or roller), while many architectural details were made in wood by local craftsmen. The appearance of that wooden upgrade can be compared to those constructed in Turopolje and Pokuplje and attested in the photographs taken in the late 19th century. The upgrade of the walls was aimed to help the defense, and it was done by wooden consoles, which main purpose was to stop the enemy attack on the walls. Off course, these wooden consoles were useful only in the case of the smaller units of the akinci, but not in the case of larger Ottoman army. In the end, it has to be said that the ground-plans were adapted to the needs of the war strategies in the beginning of the 16th century. Nevertheless, one can argue that in spite of being very small in the proportions, these pseudo-castles were the reflection of the everyday life in Croatia of that time, as well as the results of a quest to find suitable forms of defense.

• Details
• Contents