MARUŠEVEC CASTLE – from a Renaissance Wasserburg to a Historicist castle

Maruševec is part of the southwest ring of castles around Varaždin, which includes the castle with an arboretum Opeka. Maruševec was first mentioned in 1547 as a stone manor, at that time owned by the Vragović family. Before that, historical sources indicate a wooden fortress of the “wasserburg” type, protected by a water moat. Baltazar Vragović renovated and extended the castle in 1618, as evidenced by the inscription and coat of arms on the old part of the castle. The castle assumed its present appearance in 1877 when Count Schlippenbach renovated it in the style of Romanticism and Historicism, completely altering both its exterior and interior. At that time, a three-story tower was added, featuring Neo-Gothic and Historicist architectural elements. The last minor works on the castle were completed in 1901, during the time of the Pongratz family. After that, no significant alterations were made to the castle. The castle is situated in a picturesque landscape, which has not undergone significant changes to this day. At the end of the 19th century, a landscape-Romantic park was created, which has been partially preserved to this day. In just under 500 years, Maruševec changed several owners: the Vragović family from the 16th to the 18th century; the Črnkovački, Pasztory and Kanotaj families in the 18th century; the Patačić family at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries; and the Simbschen, Schlippenbach and Erdödy families in the 19th century, until 1883, when Maruševec came into the possession of the Pongratz-Lippit family. The castle remained in their possession until 1945, when they were expropriated. In 2003, the Republic of Croatia returned the castle, without the forests and agricultural land, to Dr. Oscar Pongratz-Lippit, a noble who had visited Maruševec as a child. In the second half of the 20th century, the castle was used as a children's home and the seat of the municipality, while the Seventh-day Adventist Church utilized it for a secondary religious school and the Adventist Theological Seminary from 1969 to 2000. Until its return to the former owner, the castle was managed by the municipality and the Maruševec Castle Friends Association. The significantly damaged and impoverished castle awaits restoration, a new purpose and a new life. Academic Mladen Obad Šćitaroci Prof. dr. sc. Bojana Bojanić Obad Šćitaroci