Pazin Castle

Pazin Castle - Kaštel Pazinski, Pazin, Istria County, Republic of Croatia.

Above the 120-meter-deep Foiba Gorge stands Pazin Castle, the largest medieval fortress in Istria and the oldest building in the town of Pazin. Built in the 9th century, the castle held strategic importance for controlling the central part of the peninsula.
The fortress is an irregular quadrangle with a large courtyard and rises above a beautiful canyon with a vertical 100-meter drop, known as the Pazin Cave. The castle is accessed via a drawbridge.
The fortress was repeatedly conquered, destroyed, rebuilt, and changed hands. The castle acquired its current appearance after its purchase by Alessio Mosconi in 1533. The tower, built in the 16th century, is now depicted on the coat of arms of Pazin. In 1639, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary with a wooden altar was built on the second floor of the castle, in a small niche of the Knights' Hall. The fortress was partially dismantled in the 19th century.
In 1955, the Pazin Castle opened its Town Museum. Since 1962, the castle has also housed the Istrian Ethnographic Museum, whose collection includes several thousand historical artifacts. The museum houses Istria's only collection of church bells, dating from the 14th to the 20th centuries, and a large collection of household items and clothing from various regions of Istria. It also houses a 19th-century wedding salon.