Bribir is built on a hill above the fertile valley of Vinodol. It is one of important towns of the principality of Vinodol, and it was its administrative and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages. The Bribir district was composed of the Town and 14 hamlets. In the Middle Ages it is enclosed in walls and towers, which are almost completely demolished in the course of the 19th ct.
The Tower |
Only the Northeast part of the wall and a square tower have survived of the strong wall of fortress. A fortified feudal citadel was situated inside the fortified settlement on the northern side. It was demolished to a great extent at the end of the 19th ct. In the 13th ct. the town is in possession of the Frankopans, when it partakes in the bringing in of the Law of Vinodol. Afterwards it comes under the counts of Celje and after that it is a regal town of Matija Korvin, and subsequently is kept by the family of Zrinskis until 1671. and the execution of Petar Zrinski in Bečko Novo Mesto (Wiener Neustadt). |
From this time on the settlement declines. After disappearance of Turkish danger it becomes less important, but in distinction to Ledenice, it holds the continuity of life at the unchanged place.
The urban form is decomposed, the settlement is scattered, and only a regulated square is kept, with a three-nave baroque church of St. Peter and Paul with a bell-tower at the front . The church is built at the place of the older building, of what the Glagolitic inscription dating from 1524. gives evidence. The church collection is extremely rich. The special place belongs to Milonjas crucifix dating from the13th ct., a masterpiece of local master Milonić, from Krbavsko polje. The bishops of Krbava carry the crucifix after the Battle at Krbava, when they also partly take shelter in Bribir and leave there a part of their church treasure. There are also very valuable items of church equipment: Gothic chalice and monstrance, Renaissance stone custody and a figure of Our Lady with the Child in relief, a painting "The washing of Christs feet" of Palma junior and a marble altar of Michelazzi from Rijeka, dating from 1747.
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St. Peter and Paul |
Peter and Paul Bell Tower |
St. Anthony the Anchoret |
The Gothic chapel of St.Anthony the Anchoret was built in the time of Bernardin Frankopan, and in Podskoči is situated the chapel of St. Martin dating from 16th ct., with Glagolitic inscription on the portal, dating from 1526. It was built by master Tomaš.
A doctor and botanist dr. Josip Pančić who discovered endemic coniferous tree Picea omorica, was born in 1814. in Bribir.
Drivenik
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Bribir
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Grižane
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Belgrad
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Tribalj
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