• Veliki Tabor castle

    Visit old castle

    Dvor Veliki Tabor
    49 216 Desinić
    Košnički Hum 1

    Tel: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 970
    ++ 385 (0) 49 374 973
    Fax: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 979
    E-mail: dvt@mhz.hr

  • Veliki Tabor castle

    Veliki Tabor is one of the best preserved late medieval and Renaissance fortified castles of continental part of Croatia

  • Veliki Tabor castle

    Important monument of the highest value

    (zero-category monument)

Safe stay in Croatia Living Castles

News and announcements

NOTICE

18. December, 2023.

Veliki Tabor will be closed for visitors from December 20 to 27 due to roof repair work!

Thank you for your understanding!

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Srednjovjekovne svečanosti 10/17/24/ rujna 2016.

25. August, 2016.

SCENSKI PRIKAZI OŽIVLJENE POVIJESTI:
svečani dolazak njegovog kraljevskog visočanstva Sigismunda
Luksemburškog, suđenje Veroniki Desinićkoj
BORBE VITEZOVA
SREDNJOVJEKOVNI RENESANSNI PLESOVI
MUZEJSKE RADIONICE
LUTKARSKE PREDSTAVE
NASTUPI ŽONGLERA
PREZENTACIJE STARIH VJEŠTINA I ZANATA
SREDNJOVJEKOVNI SAJAM

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Uskrsni ponedjeljak u Velikom Taboru

23. March, 2016.

Pozivamo Vas u Dvor Veliki Tabor na manifestaciju

USKRSNI PONEDJELJAK U VELIKOM TABORU

28. ožujka 2016. u 14,00 sati

Kuburaško društvo Desinićka kubura iz Desinića
organizira ovu manifestaciju s ciljem promocije i prezentacije tradicionalnog običaja pucanja iz kubure u Uskrsno vrijeme u Hrvatskom zagorju.

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History

The fort of Veliki Tabor is one of the most important cultural and historical monuments of secular architecture in continental Croatia, with a unique monumental and authentic fortification structure.

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Conservation and restauration work

While the most urgent work on the most dilapidated parts of Veliki Tabor was occasionally done in the course of the 20th century, the first systematic conservation research headed by the Croatian Conservation Institute and financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia began in the mid-1990s, when the Veliki Tabor castle and the courtyard porches were researched.

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The legend of Veronika of Desinić

According to legend, these parts were once ruled by powerful Count Herman II of Celje. His young son Fridrik, who often went horseback riding across his father's estate, set his eyes on a frail golden-haired maiden by the name of Veronika. They fell in love, which did not please old Herman.

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Exhibitions

VELIKI TABOR ON THE EVE AND IN THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR II

14. December, 2023.

The exhibition “Veliki Tabor on the Eve and in the Course of World War II” presents to the public the history of the castle, its function, and its beneficiaries between 1938 and 1945. In that period, the castle was under the administration of the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy of the Third Order of St. Francis from Blato on the island of Korčula. They lived in the castle from August 1938 until November 1945. After their arrival, youth holiday association colonies started to come to Veliki Tabor. The nuns took care of the children during their one or two month long stays. During the war, the castle functioned as a state children’s home with nuns as the war orphan caretakers. In August 1944, the Ministry of Education of the Independent State of Croatia [NDH] opened a four-grade primary school in Veliki Tabor that was under the management of the Desinić school.

At the same time, the castle became linked to the fighters of the People’s Liberation War. The Partisans were active in the area, as well as often using the castle itself. Here, the Desinić Partisan Company was established on 2 November 1943. Through testimonies we also know the Partisans used Veliki Tabor as a sanctuary to rest and recover from battle. As far as it is known, the Partisans also used the castle to hold secret meetings and store military supplies. In the first half of 1944, they controlled Desinić and therefore took over the care of the orphanage and nuns.

There are 40 exhibits to be seen: postcards, photographs, newspapers, books, weapons, military and medical equipment, a memorial plaque, as well as other objects (for example, a children’s shoe) that witness the life in Veliki Tabor of that period.

This exhibit also showcases the results of the research the exhibition author carried out in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. Panels in both Croatian and English, as well as the video presentation, display reproductions of photographs and documents such as cost sheets and descriptions of renovation work carried out at the time at Veliki Tabor.

The author of the exhibition is senior curator and museum manager, historian Renata Dečman.

The exhibition remains open until 10 November 2024.

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Guardians of Ethnographic Heritage in Veliki Tabor

03. November, 2021.

The exhibition "Guardians of Ethnographic Heritage in Veliki Tabor" presents the Ethnographic Collection of the Veliki Tabor Castle, which comprises items of traditional vilage households and farmsteads from Hrvatsko Zagorje, particulary from Desinić and Pregrada areas. At present, the Ethnographic Collection of the Veliki Tabor Castle comprises 512 inventoried objects and the exhibition presents a selection of 133 exhibits dating from the late 19th and the 20th century. Pottery, household items, and traditional farmstead objects constitute the majority of the collection. The ceramic items were produced on a foot-operated pottery wheel characteristic of the Pannonian area. They were probably produced in Ivanec area, where the best known centres of the pottery craft in Hrvatsko Zagorje were located. The items were used for various purposes – for cooking, baking, storing, processing, and serving food, for keeping and transporting liquids, and for watering plants. The household items in the collection include hot-coal irons, lanterns, coffee grinders, plates, bowls, bread shovels, spoons, forks, knives, butter churners, stove shovels, and so on. To a lesser extent, the Collection also includes items from traditional crafts (a pair of compasses, chisel, pliers, cartwright's work bench, blacksmith bellows, planes, saws, cobbler's lasts…). Some of the objects can be classified both as tools and as utensils in textile production (flax combs, brakes, and scotching boards, distaffs, spinning wheels…). With the exception of a towel, a tablecloth, and a bed sheet, textile items are not represented in the Collection. There is, however, an object that stands out, one that concerns traditional customs – košuta, a doe-like wooden Carnival mask that greatly resembles the Carnival masks from Međimurje and is likely from that area.

It would be impossible to discuss the forming of the Ethnographic Collection without considering the history of Veliki Tabor in the second half of the 20th century, particulary since the mid-70s, when the castle began organizing exhibitions of ethnographic items and collecting objects from Desinić and Pregrada areas. Through exhibition panels in Croatian and English language, visitors are introduced to the founding of the County Museum of the Pregrada Municipality in Veliki Tabor in the early 80s of the last century. Exhibition also sheds light on the period when the castle was managed by the Tourist Association of Pregrada Municipality and the Veliki Tabor Society from Desinić. Special emphasis was placed on Josip Štimac, one of the co-founders of the County Museum and former president of the Veliki Tabor Society, and Ivica Špoljar, the largest donor of the collection and the first employee of the Museum of Hrvatsko Zagorje who was employed at Dvor Veliki Tabor. The exhibition also reveals the state of the Ethnographic Collection from 2003 until today, particulary in the period when the professional staff of the Museum of Hrvatsko Zagorje takes care of the objects.

The author of the exhibition is the curator of Veliki Tabor Castle, historian Renata Dečman.

The exhibition remains open until November 15, 2022.

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The Kavanagh-Ballyane Family from Mali Tabor

14. November, 2015.

This exhibition features the family of Baron Kavanagh-Ballyane, once the masters of castle Mali Tabor in Hum na Sutli. The Kavanagh-Ballyane family originates from Ireland. Their ancestry shows relations with Queen Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. They acquired ownership of Mali Tabor estate through matrilineal succession. Simon Henry Kavanagh (1784 – 1830) married Leopoldina Moscon, the granddaughter of Ana Rattkay, thus acquiring the right to half of the estate.

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Education

An advance reservation is required for group visits and for educational workshops

About us

Veliki Tabor Castle

Hum Košnički 1, 49 216 Desinić
Mail: dvt@mhz.hr
Reservations: rezervacije-dvt@mhz.hr
www.veliki-tabor.hr

Contacts

Switchboard: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 970
Reservations: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 970
Souvenir shop: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 973
Museum manager: ++ 385 (0) 49 374 972

Museum staff
Museum manager: Renata Dečman, mag. hist.
Museum advisor: Nadica Jagarčec, historian
Senior curator: dr. sc. Ivana Škiljan, archeologist
Curator: Paul Lekaj, mag. hist. et univ. bacc. phil.
Senior museum technician: Siniša Žnidarec 
Museum technician: Nives Ćurković
Senior restorer technician: Andrea Brlobuš
Administrator, treasurer, seller: Vilma Kuhar   
Cleaning service: Ljiljana Ivić

Castle Veliki Tabor is part of the Museums of Hrvatsko zagorje.

MUSEUMS OF HRVATSKO ZAGORJE
Gornja Stubica, Samci 64
Web: www.mhz.hr
Mail: mhz@mhz.hr
Type of museum: general, museum institution consisting of five organisational units
Category: national
Coverage: republic level
Museum founder: Republic of Croatia, 1993.
Director: Jurica Sabol, senior curator
PIN: 11298572202
Reg. no.: 0207349
Bank account: 2390001-1100011100
IBAN: HR 3823900011100011100
SWIFT: HPBZHR2X





Joint management board and services
Director MHZ: ++ 385 (0) 49 587 887
Accounting: ++ 385 (0) 49 587 883
Marketing: ++ 385 (0) 49 587 881
Secretarial office: ++ 385 (0) 49 587 888
Fax: ++ 385 (0) 49 587 885

Other organisational units of the Museums of Hrvatsko zagorje:

Antun Augustinčić Gallery, Klanjec
www.mhz.hr
www.gaa.mhz.hr

Krapina neanderthal museum, Krapina
www.mhz.hr
www.mkn.mhz.hr

Peasant's Revolt Museum, Gornja Stubica
www.mhz.hr
www.msb.mhz.hr

"The Old Village", Museum, Kumrovec
www.mhz.hr
www.mss.mhz.hr

Virtual tour 360

Walk through Veliki Tabor with 360 view

Visit

Opening hours

1st March through 31th March

  • EVERY MONDAY THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED
  • Tuesday - Sunday: 9:00-5:00 PM (museum entrance closes at 4:30 PM)*

1st April through 31th October

  • EVERY MONDAY THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED
  • Tuesday - Friday: 9:00-5:00 PM (museum entrance closes at 4:30 PM)*
  • Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: 10:00-6:00 PM (museum entrance closes at 5:30 PM)*

*Last admission to the Museum is 30 minutes before closing for individual visitors and 1 hour before closing for group visitors.

The Museum is closed on

  • Holidays (1st January, Easter Sunday, 1st November, 24th December, 25th December, 26th December, 31st December)

NOTES

  • Only the ground floor of Museum´s exhibition is accessible to accompanied persons with disabilities.
  • Taking photographs and video footage shooting are allowed for personal use but not for publication purposes.
  • Parking: Yes

Admission fees

  • Children, students, and pensioners: 4,00 €
    (groups of over 30 are eligible to a discount price of 3,50 €)*
  • Adults: 5,00 €
    (groups of over 30 are eligible to a discount price of 4,50 €)*
  • Family ticket: 10,50 € (for parents with underage children)
  • Members of the Croatian Museum Society and ICOM, the International Council of Museums, are allowed to visit Veliki Tabor free of charge.
  • Person with disabilities: 20 %
  • With a Zagorje CARD: 10 %
  • Two escorts of 30 people are entitled to a free ticket
  • Children up to 3 years are entitled to a free ticket
  • The discount can only be used on a single basic
  • Credit cards accepted: Diners, Maestro, MasterCard, MasterCard electronic, Visa electronic

* Only when paying in cash or accounting

Guided tours and workshops

  • The maximum number of people in guided tours is 30
  • Guided tour in the Croatian language: 20,50 €
  • Guided tour in a foreign language (English): 27,00 €
  • Costumed tour: 27,00 €
  • Costumed tour in a foreign language (English): 33,00 €
  • Special guided tour: 40,00 €
  • Special guided tour in a foreign language (English): 46,00 €
  • Workshops: 6,00 € per person
  • Shows: 6,00 € per person

Collections & publishing

How to find us / contact