Construction development of the castle

The original fortress was built in the late thirteenth century to control the border and important roads. The core of the fortress consisted of a romanesque fort which incorporated a residential building, a small yard and a high watchtower.

The sixteenth century was marked by the development of firearms and ever precarious inroads by the Turks, both of which provoked the extension and strengthening of the fortress. In the late sixteenth century, Ivan and Petar Drašković raised the western tower, to which their coat of arms and inscription testify. The belt of the defense structures was upgraded in the eighteenth century.

During the nineteenth century, the restauration and equipping of the castle changed its function and appearance. The first phase of the restauration was initiated and funded by Juraj Drašković with his wife Sofija. It was done in a fashionable neo-Gothic style, and probably modeled after the Laxenburg castle (near Vienna). The goal was to transform the castle into a cosy living place.