Velika Kladuša Castle, Medieval fortress in Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Velika Kladuša Castle is a medieval fortress on a hill above the right bank of the Grabarska, a tributary of the Kladušnica. Its main tower burned down in an electrical fire. The castle was refurbished and repurposed as a tourist and hospitality venue.
The fortress is first mentioned in 1280 under King Ladislaus IV of Hungary. It underwent major reinforcement when the Ottomans captured it in 1633.
The castle's name comes from the Kladuša noble family, later Dukes of Kladuša, who held it after the Babonići. Its Ottoman garrison was led by a dizdar; the last, Husein-aga Alagić, came from a family that had filled the post for over 150 years. A 1641 report by Krsto Frankopan of Tržac records that harambaša Mujo Hrnjica and his brothers lived here.
The castle stands on a hill above the right bank of the Grabarska, a tributary of the Kladušnica. The main tower burned down in an electrical fire, so parts of the structure are unsafe; the site has been refurbished as a tourist and hospitality venue. The surrounding old buildings are decaying through lack of maintenance.
The fortress held a garrison of 120 soldiers until 1790, when this number increased following the fall of nearby Cetina. This shift shows how regional military strategy responded to political changes.
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