"A quick trip for a Croatian beer........ " a Cakovec Travel Page by leics

Over the border from Slovenia we went, to Cakovec for a beer and a wander round.

It was a proper border, because Croatia is not yet in the EU (let alone Schengen) so there were dour border guards checking passports (and looking faintly bemused as to why I was travelling with a Slovenian family).

My first proper land border crossing!

Cakovec has a rather good castle with substantial defensive walls enclosing a museum (sadly closed when I visited), a spacious town square and one or two interesting pieces of architecture. I liked it very much: it seemed a friendly place, and I believe it has won awards for being a particularly clean town.

Zrinski castle was first mentioned in the 13th century. In 1546 the Counts of Zrinski owned it, and it is they who added walls and fortifications (because of threats from the Ottoman Empire) as well as making many changes to the castle itself (in the Renaissance style, apparently, although I could not go inside). A notice on the wall suggested that its present appearance dates mainly from the 18th century, but I suspect that there is plenty of earlier evidence still visible, especially the walls and the structures built into them.

The castle is regarded as being the primary symbol of the town, and the museum within enclose the history of the Medmurje region.

The central part of the town is lovely: wide and open, with a fountain. It needs some trees too, I think..but the people of Cacovec have a lovely green area with shady tres aournd the castle itself (a minute or so'swalk) so maybe trees aren't really needed.

I enjoyed watching Cakovec's version of the late afternoon 'passegiata'.... parents and children and teenagers..... meeting up, or shopping, or playing ball, or simply enjoying a wander around town in the Spring sunshine.

The 'Trader's Casino' immediately caught my eye. Dating from the turn of the 20th century (1903-4) it is an extremely pretty Art Nouveau building. I'm not quite sure what a 'trader's casino' is, but since the end of the Second World War it has been a trades union building (and a public library, for a while).

I'd like to explore the town more another time.......perhaps wander the castle grounds, go into St Nicholas Church, see what other interesting architecture remeains (although a couple of earthquakes in the 18th and 19th centruies did a huge amount of damage,as did a fire in 1741, so there may not be much more to see).

If you are driving into Croatia (perhaps on your way to the coast) then I think Cakovec would make a very pleasant stop...or an overnight break.

O..and the Croatian beer (Ozujsko) was very pleasant too! :-)