# Cetin Castle

- **Country:** Croatia
- **Coordinates:** 45.138333, 15.731667
- **Notes:** At the top of the hill dominates the old town of Cetin, the same one where a council of some of the Croatian nobles was held 497 years ago. They gathered on New Year's Day 1527 and there elected Ferdinand I of Habsburg as the Croatian king and his wife Anna as queen. Later, Cetin fell into the hands of the Turks, and returned to the Krajina administration, which abandoned it in the mid-19th century. That is when the fortress began to decline.
- **Castle Type:** Castle
- **Location Text:** Podcetin, Karlovac County

Cetin Castle is a medieval fortress located approximately five kilometers south of Cetingrad, situated above the village of Podcetin in Croatia. While the exact year of its construction remains unknown, historical indications suggest a settlement existed on the site during the Roman Empire, with the local parish first documented in 1334. The name Cetin reportedly derives from a term meaning a place covered by dense and dark forest. Throughout its long history, the stronghold changed hands frequently among powerful entities, including the Hungarian Crown, the Frankopan and Zrinski noble families, the Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy, reflecting its strategic importance in the region.

The site holds immense historical significance as the location where the Croatian nobility elected Ferdinand I Habsburg as King of Croatia in 1527. This pivotal event, known as the Election in Cetin, secured Croatia's place within the Habsburg Monarchy for centuries, lasting until the end of World War I. During the Middle Ages, the castle served as the seat for the Cetinski branch of the Frankopan family, a period considered its golden era before the line ended following the Battle of Krbava Field. The fortress subsequently passed to other branches of the family and various imperial powers over the following centuries.

Today, Cetin Castle exists as a protected cultural good under registration number Z-276, recognized as a monument of great value to Croatian national history. Although the structure is currently in a ruined state, its remains stand as a testament to the turbulent political and military history of the area. The site is not described as being actively used for modern purposes beyond its status as a historical landmark, yet it remains a crucial symbol of Croatian sovereignty and the complex interplay of European powers that shaped the Balkans from the medieval period through the early twentieth century.

![Photo of Cetin Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Cetin_castle%2C_Croatia%2C_back.JPG)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetin_Castle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)