Croatia · Ruin
Samobor Castle
Samobor Castle is a medieval hilltop fortress on Tepec hill above the town of Samobor, Croatia. Built in the 13th century and expanded through the early modern period, it survives today as a ruin with substantial stretches of curtain wall, towers and the chapel of St. Ana.
First raised
1300
Its prime
1750
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1750
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a rocky hill above the town, the castle reads as an irregular, indented stone complex of three linked parts with broad curtain walls and multiple ruined towers. Walls are of local pale grey stone with many rectangular window and door openings; several tower bases and a semicircular chapel tower remain partly standing. The layout forms an elongated trapezoidal courtyard; most upper floors and roofs are missing, leaving exposed floor levels, stair openings and fragments of the southern three‑storey house.
Its story
The story of Samobor Castle.
Samobor Castle was raised between 1260 and 1264 by supporters of the Czech king Ottokar II of Bohemia, then at war with the Hungarian king Stephen V. Croatian-Hungarian forces under the duke of Okić soon retook it, and he was rewarded with the city of Samobor and the privilege of collecting its local taxes.
The first known owners were the Babonić family, after whom the castle passed to the Hungarian-Croatian kings. In the 15th century it belonged to the Counts of Celje, and at the beginning of the 16th to the Frankopans; then came a run of owners — the counts Tržac, Tahy, Auersperg and Kiepach — with the Counts of Erdödy-Kulmer the last actually to live in it.
Samobor's municipal government bought the castle from the Montecuccoli family in 1902. The ruin on Tepec hill stands only a ten-minute walk from the town centre, with remains of the old moat still visible, along with the massive entrance, most of the walls and the chapel of St Ana.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1750.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Samobor Castle — including 2 interiors: semicircular tower with the gothic chapel of st. ana, southern three-storey house with tuscan columned porches. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Samobor Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1750 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Samobor Castle.
The families that held Samobor Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Babonić
The Babonić family were the castle's first known owners.
Celje
Property of the Counts of Celje during the 15th century.
Frankopan
In the possession of the Frankopan family from the beginning of the 16th century.
Erdödy-Kulmer
The Counts of Erdödy-Kulmer were the last owners actually to live in the castle.
