Kurjaković Fortress

Tvrđava Kurjaković stands on a hill above the town of Obrovac beside the River Zrmanja. The place is first recorded in 1337 as Obrouec, Hobrouec or Hobrouac; the lower town developed as the suburb of the fortress. From the fourteenth century the fortress and town belonged to the Krbava princes Kurjaković of the Gusić family. In 1387 Prince Karlo II Kurjaković († 1424) resided here with his uncles Nikola, Tomo and Butko. In the second half of the fourteenth century Obrovac was an important trading centre for the import of salt from Zadar and Pag into the Kingdom of Croatia.

The last Krbava prince Ivan Karlović († 1531) lost Obrovac with the fortress on 30 March 1527 to the Ottomans. It remained under Ottoman rule until 1647, when Venetian forces under General Leonardo Foscolo captured and destroyed it during the Candian War. In 1670 the Ottomans retook Obrovac; in 1687 the Uskok commander Stojan Janković finally liberated the place.

The fortress changed its appearance over the centuries. Under the Ottomans it was probably square with four corner towers. Under Venetian rule it was further altered. In its upper part it was protected by ramparts and consisted of the Kurjaković court, which was square on the inside and built on the outside with the features of a massive tower. Court and forecourt were enclosed by a massive wall. At the entrance to the court stood a square tower, and in the court there was a cistern.