Old Kalnik town is located on the Kalnik mountain, to the north-west from Krizevici village. Kalnik – a fortress-town – was founded on a cliff, on an old Roman road, which crosses the Kalnik between the peaks of Vuklenec (615 m) and Vranilec (643 m).
The first mention of Kalnik belongs to the written document dated 5th of June 1243: king Bela IV mentions it as a king’s town “castrum nostrum Kemluk”, and as an important consolidation to defend the land against Tatars.
Kalnik, built on a steep natural rock, has been a great help in lots of wars, as it turned out to be an insuperable obstacle for the attackers. After the Tatars conquered Hungary and a part of Croatia, it was this exact little place – Kalnik – where they experienced their first defeat on the land of Croatia.
The old town of Kalnik includes the buildings of different epochs. In the lower part of the town, on the eastern side, one can see the remains of Saint Ekaterina chapel.
Through its history, Kalnik had changed many owners and influential families. Despite the current ruler the citizens were leaving it, and towards the middle of the 18th century, Kalnik stayed almost empty.
In our times, there are cleaning and restoration works going on, and the ancient walls are being strengthened to stay for centuries ahead as the museum on the opened air.
Today, the ruins of kalnik are the museum under the opened skies. An entrance is completely free.
Address of Kalnik 42222, Kalnik, Koprivnica-Križevci County
Town Kalnik is located in 68 km from Zagreb city and in 43 km from Varaždin town.
Kalnik old town on map of Croatia
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