The 10 Best Sights & Landmarks in Karlovac, Central Croatia

Congratulations! You have just found the Katzler Pavilion, the smallest tourist mega-center in the world, a gift-shop, museum, gallery, vault of Karlovac culture and history, and the favorite meeting place of the locals. All in one place. Its interior can hold several thousand people… carefully allocated throughout the year. A group of five can completely fit inside the interior only if they come with a smile. At the entrance to the Karlovac Star there is a small green house with an unusual name – the Katzler Pavilion. Let it be the marker of entrance and exit from the old center. No, we do not charge for entry into the Star. Nor for exiting. Today Karlovac’s great history is framed in small windows of the Katzler Pavilion, and the interior hides items, photographs and documents which are a part of the mosaic showing the town’s image.

Dubovac Castle is the oldest Karlovac monument, not just because of its ample history, but also because of the pioneer decision to preserve it in the name of collective memory. To this day the castle on the hill above the Kupa River is the most prominent landmark of the cultural and historical landscape of Karlovac. In the Middle Ages, Dubovac developed as a settlement with a fort at the cross-section of river and road routes, and in an area of dense fortified locations. It was first mentioned in 1339, when it got its first parish priest. Frequently written in Glagolitic script, the testimonies of trade and crafts, legal and school life circumstances of Dubovac burghers-freemen, were most numerous in the several decades preceding 1578, when the Osmanlis devastated its city to the ground. Although not large in area, the Dubovac estate was important economically as a regional market town. Its owners were, among others, important noble families from 1387 to 1810.

The city of Karlovac and its defenders endured fierce attacks in the Homeland War and played a key role in the defence of the Croatian territory, as well as in the creation of the independent Republic of Croatia. Karlovac, a fortress city in the shape of a star, has always been an indispensable part of the European and Croatian history. This unique museum tells the story of the fearlessness of Croatian defenders and the invincibility of the city on four rivers. The permanent interactive museum exhibition containing 350 original artefacts and more than 3 hours of multimedia content through which visitors can discover contemporary Croatian history. The exhibition also presents 23 exhibits featuring large-scale combat technology, with an emphasis on the ones manufactured domestically. The museum also has a Memorial Room of the Fallen Karlovac Defenders from the Homeland War, a multi-purpose hall, library and a souvenir shop.

With its Baroque belfry, the Holy Trinity Church stands in the centre of the Star, the Karlovac old town, as a landmark, a beacon, both in the actual space and on one’s spiritual journey. It was built at the same time as the fort itself, with various parts added through the centuries, and is the very heart of the town’s spiritual life. It is also a part of the town’s religious heritage, and an unavoidable point for meeting history, people and one’s own self.

The Main town square has a votive column - the Plague Pillar - with a Madonna statue on top, built after the epidemic of plague at the end of 17th century. It has the ornaments that represent the town rivers.

This is a popular street of Karlovac which connects two rivers, Kupa and Korana. This charming old street with picturesque architectire features traditional craftsmen houses, the baroque mansions, unique fire lanes, wooden doors, fences with ornaments and iron signs.

This is the monument dedicated to significant historian who, among other important works, also wrote the monograph of the town. You can see the monument in the park behind the Town Theatre Zorin Dom.