State

What's left of the old Perušić Castle can be seen in the village of Perušić, which is a walking distance from Benkovac. There are no signposts to direct you, but it shouldn't be hard to find it - just go uphill from the electrical power substation, and very soon you'll see the remains of a once mighty castle. Its present state is, sadly, a ruin. You can still get a good impression of its size and dominance. And the view is great, too.

HIstory

The remains of the demolished castle are on the hill above Perušić. As the church of the Ascension of the Virgin nearby, it was first recorded in the documents in 1449. It is believed to have been built in the 14th or 15th century. Its original shape was preserved until 1944, when it was demolished. What remeains today are parts of the outer wall. There was also a residential building in the south-east corner of the inner precinct of the castle.

Old photo

Walls

Remains

Walls

Description

The castle has a square plan. It had rectangular towers at the corners and an 18-meter tall round tower dominating the central area.

Outer wall

HIstory

The castle was built near the border between Venetian Dalmatia and the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, on the Croatian side. It was occupied by the Ottoman Turks after they had defeated the Hungarian-Croatian forces in the fatal battle of Mohacs in 1526. It wasn't defended, which saved it, as well as the churches nearby, from desruction. The Turks controlled it until 1647, when the Venetians forced them out during the Candian war. The Turks recaptured it between 1670 and 1683, when they were finally driven out.