28|2 

 2023
ACTA HISTORIAE ARTIS SLOVENICA  28|2 

 2023
Wilhelmina and Vincenz Auersperg  
in the library of Žleby Chateau, 1845,  
National Heritage Institute, Prague  
(© Národní památkový ústav)
ACTA HISTORIAE ARTIS SLOVENICA 28|2 
 2023 ZRC SAZU, UMETNOSTNOZGODOVINSKI INŠTITUT FRANCETA STELETA
https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/ahas
ACTA HISTORIAE ARTIS SLOVENICA
Artistic and Architectural Heritage  
of the Nobility Between Old and New Regimes
Umetnostna in arhitekturna dediščina plemstva 
med starimi in novimi režimi
Contents •
 Vsebina
Tina Košak, Renata Komić Marn, Helena Seražin, Artistic and Architectural Heritage of the Nobility Between 
Old and New Regimes: Foreword • Umetnostna in arhitekturna dediščina plemstva med starimi in novimi 
režimi. Predgovor
Kamila Kłudkiewicz, Michał Mencfel, The Stateless Nation’s Elite: Artistic Collections of Polish Aristocracy, 
1795–1918 • Elita naroda brez države. Umetnostne zbirke poljskega plemstva, 1795–1918 
Arianna Candeago, The Molin Collection Between the Old and New Regime • Zbirka Molin med starim in novim 
režimom 
Valeria Paruzzo, Ca’ Rezzonico in the 19
th
 Century: The Dispersal of its Collections and the New Uses of the 
Palace • Ca’ Rezzonico v 19. stoletju. Usoda zbirke in nove namembnosti palače
Šárka Radostová, Kristina Uhlíková, The Role and Activities of Custodians of Aristocratic Collections in Bohemia 
in the 19
th
 Century and First Half of the 20
th
 Century: Selected Examples • Vloga in delovanje skrbnikov 
plemiških zbirk na Češkem v 19. stoletju in prvi polovici 20. stoletja. Izbrani primeri
Dubravka Botica, The New Life of Baroque Castles in North-Western Croatia: The Renovation of the Erdödy  
and Vranyczány Families’ Castles at the End of the 19
th
 and Beginning of the 20
th
 Centuries • Novo življenje 
baročnih gradov v severozahodni Hrvaški. Prenova gradov rodbin Erdödy in Vranyczány konec 19. in  
v začetku 20. stoletja
Joaquim Rodrigues dos Santos, The Restoration and Refunctionalisation of Medieval Fortified Manor Houses 
by the Portuguese Dictatorial Regime (1926–1974) • Obnova srednjeveških utrdb v času portugalskega 
diktatorskega režima (1926–1974) 
Whitney Dennis, “In the Appropriate Setting”: Continuity and Context in the Alba Collection in Liria Palace 
(1931–1957) • »Primerno umeščena«. Kontinuiteta in kontekst zbirke vojvod Alba v palači Liria v Madridu 
(1931–1957)
Marcela Rusinko, “Keep That German Kitsch Away from the Czech Hands!” Ethnic Cleansing in the Light of Material 
Culture: Furnishings of the Displaced Moravian and Silesian Nobility on the Post-1945 Brno Auction Market • 
»Spravite ta nemški kič stran od čeških rok!« Etnično čiščenje v luči materialne kulture. Stanovanjska oprema 
izseljenega moravskega in šlezijskega plemstva na dražbenem trgu v Brnu po letu 1945
Silvia Marin Barutcieff, Old Edifices, New Uses: Three Residential Buildings of a Romanian Aristocratic Family and 
Their Destiny after 1930 • Stare zgradbe, nove rabe. Tri rezidenčne stavbe romunske plemiške družine in 
njihova usoda po letu 1930
25 €

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
LJUBLJANA 2023
ZRC SAZU, Umetnostnozgodovinski inštitut Franceta Steleta 
ZRC SAZU, France Stele Institute of Art History
ACTA HISTORIAE ARTIS 
SLOVENICA
28|2
 • 
2023
Artistic and Architectural Heritage 
of the Nobility Between Old and New Regimes
Umetnostna in arhitekturna dediščina plemstva 
med starimi in novimi režimi

XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX
  
Acta historiae artis Slovenica, 28/2, 2023
Artistic and Architectural Heritage of the Nobility Between Old and New Regimes
Umetnostna in arhitekturna dediščina plemstva med starimi in novimi režimi
Znanstvena revija za umetnostno zgodovino / Scholarly Journal for Art History
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101
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/ahas.28.2.05
101
ACTA HISTORIAE ARTIS SLOVENICA 28|2 ∙ 2023, 101–121
Abstract:
The New Life of Baroque Castles in North-Western Croatia: The Renovation of the Erdödy and Vranyczány 
Families’ Castles at the End of the 19
th
 and Beginning of the 20
th
 Centuries
1. 01 Original scientific article
The article examines the furnishing of country residences, the collecting practises and art patronage of members of 
two families of the old and new nobility, the Erdödy and the Vranyczány-Dobrinović, who played an important role 
in Croatian society and politics. The Erdödy furnished their castles in Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof and Bajnski dvori 
with Historicist furniture and decorated them with their collections, which consisted mainly of works of art by Old 
Masters. The Vranyczány followed the trend of Historicist interior decoration and expressed their personal taste 
more strongly, which was reflected in their estates of Mirkovec and Gornje Oroslavje, which became the centre of 
social gatherings of the modern Croatian art scene.
Keywords: Baroque Castles, renovation, Erdödy Family, Vranyczány Family, Collections, Landscape architecture, 
furnishing, Oroslavje, Bajnski dvori
Izvleček:
Novo življenje baročnih gradov v severozahodni Hrvaški. Prenova gradov rodbin Erdödy in Vranyczány  
konec 19. in v začetku 20. stoletja
1.01 Izvirni znanstveni članek
V članku so predstavljeni oprema podeželskih rezidenc, zbirateljstvo in umetnostno naročništvo članov rodbin 
Erdödy in Vranyczány-Dobrinović, predstavnikov starega in novega plemstva, ki so imeli pomembno vlogo 
v družbenem in političnem življenju Hrvaške. Člani rodbine Erdödy so svoje gradove Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof 
in Bajnski dvori prenovili skladno z novimi trendi in jih opremili s historicističnim pohištvom in likovnimi deli 
veči noma starih mojstrov. Člani rodbine Vranyczány pa so sledili modi historicistične notranje opreme z močno 
izraženim osebnim okusom, vidnim predvsem na posestih Markovec in Gornje Oroslavje, ki sta postali srečevališče 
tedanje hrvaške umetniške srenje.
Ključne besede: baročni gradovi, prenova, rodbina Erdödy, rodbina Vranyczány, zbirke, krajinska arhitektura, opre-
ma, Oroslavje, Bajnski dvori
The New Life of Baroque Castles  
in North-Western Croatia
The Renovation of the Erdödy and Vranyczány Families’ Castles  
at the End of the 19
th
 and Beginning of the 20
th
 Centuries
Dubravka Botica
Prof. Dubravka Botica, PhD, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 
Ul. Ivana Lučića 3, 10000, Zagreb, dbotica@ffzg.hr, ORCID-ID: 0000-0001-7698-0904

102
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
Introduction
Up until the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy, the role of artistic trendsetters, promotors of 
new artistic styles and patrons in Croatia was indisputably held by the nobility. However, the cir-
cumstances of the nobility’s patronage, various actors, artists and patrons, as well as the popularity 
and prestige of different artistic media changed over time. The artistic and architectural heritage 
of the nobility and its members’ everyday lives was not a commonly studied subject of art history 
in Croatia in the 20
th
 century, a rare exception being the exhibition From Everyday to Holidays: The 
Baroque in Croatia held in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb in 1993.
1
 It seems that the 
subject and content of this exhibition was based on a study by Josip Matasović of the culture of 18
th
-
century daily life published back in 1921.
2
 Artistic patronage is mostly commonly researched in the 
case of religious art, particularly altars and votive offerings donated to churches by the nobility.
3
 
Interest in this topic has increased during the last few decades, encouraged by more comprehensive 
research
4
 and exhibitions. Some of the most significant exhibitions include The Magnificent Vrany-
czánys (Zagreb, 2016),
5
 Ars et Virtus: Croatia – Hungary; 800 Years of Common Heritage (Zagreb/
Budapest, 2020/2021),
6
 which focused on Hungarian and Croatian nobility, and The Art of the Sla-
vonian Nobility: Masterpieces of European Heritage (Zagreb, 2021).
7
  
This paper and the associated presentation at the conference Artistic and Architectural 
Heritage of the Nobility delve into the activities of the nobility in the 19
th
 and first decades of the 
20
th
 centuries in North-western Croatia: their everyday life in their city and country residences, 
the furnishing of their country properties and the surrounding grounds, with a particular focus 
on the artistic patronage, interests and commissions shared by both the old and the new nobility 
using the examples of two noble families which had important roles in the social and political life 
of Croatia. The nobles in question are the Erdödy and the Vranyczány families. The Erdödy family 
was one of the oldest and most significant noble families in the historical territory of Hungary 
and Croatia and, even though its reputation and power started to wane during this period, it still 
retained an important social and cultural role. The Vranyczány family, on the other hand, was a 
new noble family with a distinguished role in the social and cultural life of Croatia at the time. 
These two families have been chosen as a case study for research into patronage by the nobility in 
north-western Croatia for several reasons. First and foremost, the archival materials relating to 
these two families, especially photographic collections and photo albums, are extensive and well 
preserved, which provides an insight into the furnishing of their country residences as well as their 
everyday lives. Furthermore, these families are representative of two dominant groups within the 
1
 Maleković, Od svagdana do blagdana.
2
 Matasović, Iz galantnog stoljeća; Matasović, Iz galantnog stoljeća, kulturnohistorijski fragmenti. 
3
 See the newest exhibition held in the Museum of the Veliki Tabor Castle opened November 4, 2022, “Izložba 
Rattkayi Velikotaborski i Crkva, ” Veliki Tabor, accessed September 18, 2023, https://www.veliki-tabor.hr/novosti-
-i-najave/pregled/izlozba-rattkayi-velikotaborski-i-crkva. 
4
 Two research projects are interesting in this context, Visual Arts and Communication of Power in the Early Modern 
Period (1450–1800): Historical Croatian Regions at the Crossroads of Central Europe and the Mediterranean (PI 
Milan Pelc, Institute of Art History, 2014–2018) and ET TIBI DABO: Commissions and Donors in Istria, Croatian 
Littoral and North Dalmatia from 1300 to 1800 (PI Nina Kudiš, University of Rijeka, 2017–2021).
5
 Bagarić, Veličanstveni Vranyczányjevi.
6
 Damjanović et al., Ars et Virtus.
7
 Najcer Sabljak, Lučevnjak, and Galović, Umjetnost slavonskog plemstva.

103
THE NEW LIFE OF BAROQUE CASTLES IN NORTH-WESTERN CROATIA: THE RENOVATION OF THE ERDÖDY AND VRANYCZÁNY FAMILIES’ CASTLES...
nobility at the time. The Erdödys serve as an example of the old Croatian-Hungarian nobility, that 
is as a large and extended family with blood and marriage relations to all of the most important 
“old” noble and landed families in both Croatia and Hungary. Even though the Vranyczány are 
actually old nobility from Dalmatia, they only received the noble title of baron in Croatia as late 
as 1862 and therefore, within this context, represent new nobility. Members of both families had 
important roles in the social, political and public life of Croatia in accordance with their status: the 
Erdödy family were viceroys, hereditary prefects of the district of Varaždin, the larger part of the 
territory of north-western Croatia, and were also generals in the Ottoman wars. The Vranyczánys 
were patrons of younger generations of distinguished artists of the period and cultural institutions 
that championed the national revival and played a key role in the formation of modern Croatian 
society, such as Matica hrvatska.
8
 Like other noble families, both the Erdödys and the Vranyczánys 
were interested in art. The Erdödys held significant art collections mostly of Old Masters in their 
estates (see further about their stately home Bajnski dvori below), while the Vranyczány hosted the 
most renowned painters of Croatian Modernism at their country residence in Gornje Oroslavje 
(as discussed below), which seems to support the hypothesis that the new nobility leaned towards 
and promoted new artistic tendencies. However, these two social groups shared a number of other 
aspects of cultural life. For example, both the new and the old nobles furnished their interiors 
with Historicist furniture and took an active interest in the new artistic medium of photography. 
The family albums and photograph collections belonging to both families are filled with pictures 
of family members hunting, enjoying their country estates, as well as the parks and gardens 
surrounding their stately homes. This paper will, based on photographs and archival documents, 
discuss the two families’ relationships to their Baroque castles in their properties, which they used 
as their country residences. Both the Erdödys and the Vranyczánys spent a lot of time in their 
castles and transformed them into comfortable residences and sites for social gatherings. The 
Erdödys added new elements to their properties, while the Vranyczánys purchased Baroque castles 
and adapted them to the new conditions and demands of contemporary life, turning them into 
country houses and grand estates. 
Castles owned by these families present an important part of the catalogue of monumental 
secular Baroque architecture of north-western Croatia. Most Baroque castles in mainland Croatia 
were constructed in the 18
th
 century. Their decline, however, started as soon as the 19
th
 century as 
a result of new social and political circumstances: tectonic shifts such as the abolition of feudalism, 
new tax policies and the extinction of noble families. In the final decades of the 18
th
 century and the 
turn of the 19
th
 century, some estates are renovated by new owners, as can be seen in the case of the 
Vranyczány family. This short timespan represents a final period of splendour for Baroque residenc -
es in Croatia—their swan song. The process of deterioration of their buildings intensified during the 
inter-war period due to agrarian reform. Finally, the changes to the social order brought about by 
the post-war communist Yugoslav regime dealt the final blow to these castles and their furnishing. 
8
 Matica hrvatska is Croatian national cultural institution, founded in 1842, during the Croatian National Revival 
(1835–1874). Its main goals are to promote Croatian national and cultural identity in the fields of art, science, 
spiritual creativity, economics and public life as well as to support the social development of Croatia (“O Matici 
hrvatskoj, ” Matica hrvatska, accessed September 18, 2023, https://www.matica.hr/omatici/). 

104
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
The Life of the Nobility at the End of the  
19
th
 and the Beginning of the 20
th
 Centuries
As in other countries of the Austro-Hungari-
an monarchy until its dissolution, the nobility 
in Croatia was a relatively homogenous social 
group that sought to preserve its exclusive social 
status.
9
 The nobility lead a rich social life typi-
fied by close contact and frequent companion-
ship with members of numerous other extended 
noble families.
10
 The aesthetics of both the old 
and new nobility’s everyday life was character-
ised by forms executed in Historicist neo-styles 
which were ubiquitous at the time. As a style that 
manifested itself in all fields, including everyday 
life, Historicism is one of the key characteristics 
of the Gründerzeit, also known as “the found-
ers’ period”.
11
 As such, it replaced the previously 
widespread Biedermeier style of interior fur-
nishing.
12
 During this period, the nobility began 
to follow the trend of restoring the style of the 
Monarchy introduced by the Habsburg Court in 
the 19
th
 century. Interiors were fashioned as His-
toricist scenes for staging the events of everyday 
life, equipped with neo-style furniture.
13
 In the 
artistic centres of the Monarchy, Neo-Baroque 
and Neo-Rococo styles were especially popu-
lar.
14
 This is exemplified by the Babočaj-Gvozdanović Palace in Zagreb owned by nobleman Dragu-
tin Gvozdanović (1851–1926) and his wife Anka Gvozdanović, nee Busch (1887–1968). As the best 
preserved example of Zagreb residential architecture owned by the nobility, this two-storey palace 
situated at the periphery of the former city walls is furnished with various Neo-historicist styles of 
furniture. Its interior consists of the “Blue Parlour” decorated in Rococo and Louis XVI style (fig. 1), 
the “Red Parlour” in the early Empire style, the “Black Parlour” in the late Empire style, the “Green 
Parlour” with Neo-Baroque furnishings and a bedroom decorated with Pompeian motifs.
15
9 
Stekl, “Zwischen Machtverlust und Selbstbehauptung, ” 16.
10 
For the everyday life and culture of Zagreb nobility, see Iveljić, Očevi i sinovi, 347, and the following pages.
11
 Widespread Historicism in all fields of life, including the everyday, is one of the key aspects of the Gründerzeit, 
not only in Wilhelm II’s Germany, but in other countries as well, see Hermand, “Grandeur, High Life und innerer 
Adel, ” 193, 195.
12
 Muraj, “Svakodnevni život u 19. stoljeću, ” 318.
13
 Stalla, “… Mit dem Lächeln des Rokoko …, ” 228.
14
 Krause, “Baukunst, ” 182.
15
 The Gvozdanović Collection is part of the Museum of Arts and Crafts (see “Zbirka Anke Gvozdanović, ” Museum 
of Arts and Crafts, accessed December 15, 2022, https://www.muo.hr/zbirka-anke-gvozdanovic/). 
1. Blue Parlour, Gvozdanović Palace  
(© Muzej za umjetnost i obrt, Zagreb) 

105
In addition to adopting a “royal” monumental visual framework and interior decoration, the 
nobility also modelled all other aspects of their everyday lives on the ruling families. Thus, the hobbies 
cultivated by members of the ruling Habsburg family and the upper echelons of the aristocracy also 
became widespread among the nobility and upper class more generally. Following the example of 
Emperor Francis II (I), the nobility adopted botany as one of their favourite hobbies. As a result, they 
constructed orangeries, nursery-gardens and arboretums within their estates and built late Romantic 
and Historicist architectural constructions in the gardens surrounding their stately homes, modelled 
on Laxenburg park and the Romantic Franzensburg lake estate (Hetzendorf von Hohenberg from 
1801).
16
 The nobility’s interest in as well as knowledge and patronage of art and artists, one of their 
key activities, was a significant factor in their image and prominence, as well as being a means of 
self-affirmation and reinforcement of their status. Along with traditional artistic media, an interest in 
photography, a new artistic medium, became commonplace amongst the nobility. 
Even though the ways of life and modes of visual representation of the old and new nobility 
became increasingly entwined in the “bourgeoisie period”, some differences between these groups 
can still be discerned. The rich and often ennobled citizenry looked to established modes of visual 
representation in order to affirm their new position and social standing, while still expressing their 
personal interests and tastes as patrons. The old nobility, on the other hand, turned to family his-
tory and emphasized their lineage. These contrasts are also visible between the Erdödy and the Vra-
nyczány families, especially in their patronage and commissioning practices. Aside from botany 
and art, a passion for photography is present among both the old and the new nobility, with the 
personal predilections of individual patrons playing a key role. 
The Stately Homes of the Erdödy Family: Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof and Bajnski dvori
As one of the most important noble families on the territory of north-western Croatia, the Erdödy 
played a significant role in the politics, culture and artistic production of this area from the 16
th
 up 
to the beginning of the 20
th
 century. The family, whose original name was Bakač (Bakacs/Bakolcz), 
originates from the village of Ardud in what is today Romania. The family’s rise to nobility began 
with Toma Bakač (Tamás Bakócz) (1435–1521), who, as the archbishop of Esztergom, a member of 
the royal council under Vladislaus II and the bishop of Zagreb (1511–1518), acquired numerous 
estates in Croatia. The family became counts in 1565 and soon became one of the most significant 
noble families in north-western Croatia. As many as five members of the Erdödy family served as 
viceroys,
17
 and from 1607 to 1845, they were the hereditary prefects of the District of Varaždin. The 
family came into possession of numerous estates during the course of the 16
th
 century, the most 
important of which were Cesargrad (Novi Dvori), Jastrebarsko, Kerestinec, Klanjec, Moslavina, 
Okić and Varaždin (Stari grad). Until 1703, the Jastrebarsko estate was their main residence.
18
 The 
16
 Krause, “Baukunst, ” 180–81.
17
 Viceroys from the Erdödy family were Petar II (1557–1567) and T oma (1584–1595), whose tombstones with family coats 
of arms were placed in the Zagreb Cathedral, and Žigmund (1627–1639), Nikola (1680–1693) and Ivan (1790–1806). 
18
 In the 19
th
 century, their properties included Moslavina, Jastrebarsko, Negovec, Kuzminec, Oborovo, Glogovec, 
Stari grad Varaždin, Novi Marof, Bajnski dvori, Bela, Cerje, Cesargrad, Glogovec, Ivanec, Jurketinec, Kuzminec, 
Luka, Novi dvori zaprešićki, Štakorovec, Želin, and the Hungarian estates Rothenburg, Körmend, Vörösvar. Up 
until 1945, they owned V ep, Somlovar and Galgocz in Slovakia. T oday they own the Austrian estates Monyorókerék 
(Eberau) and the Kohfidisch and Luising castles.
THE NEW LIFE OF BAROQUE CASTLES IN NORTH-WESTERN CROATIA: THE RENOVATION OF THE ERDÖDY AND VRANYCZÁNY FAMILIES’ CASTLES...

106
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
Erdödys divided their estates between the Hungarian and the Croatian side of the family on a 
number of occasions.
19
 
As patrons, the Erdödys are responsible for some of the most significant Baroque commissions 
in north-western Croatia. They were very active as patrons of religious art and notable support -
ers of the Franciscan and Pauline orders, furnishing numerous parish churches. As a result, most 
churches in this part of Croatia, from Jastrebarsko to Zagreb and Varaždin,
 
contain altars or, at the 
very least, stone panels with the Erdödy coat of arms.
20
 One of the most interesting works are the 
exceptional sarcophagi used for the burial of Mirko/Emerik (1620–1690) and Žigmund/Sigismund 
I Erdödy (1596–1639), originally placed in the crypt of the Franciscan monastery in Klanjec as their 
patrons, and today part of the monastery’s art collection.
21
 The Erdödy family made significant 
commissions in profane architecture as well, making a major contribution to the spreading and 
acceptance of new styles. It could be said that their castles blazed the trail for the widespread use 
of the Baroque style in the architecture of north-western Croatia. At the beginning of the 17
th
 cen-
tury, the family built grand stately homes in Jastrebarsko and Kerestinec, as well as the Novi Dvori 
Klanječki Castle. In the 18
th
 century, another Erdödy Castle was built in Popovača. The Erdödy 
built four-wing castles with arcaded corridors in their residential wings and circular corner towers, 
which became a prototype for monumental stately home architecture in the family’s other impor-
tant estates.
22
 The Hungarian nobility also constructed similarly designed fortified castles on the 
territories affected by the war with the Ottomans.
23
 By building castles with fortification elements, 
the owners materialized the heritage of their ancestors and vaunted their family’s lineage. This is 
one of the models of historicizing, a phenomenon which was permanently present in the lives of 
European noble families for as long as their members still lived on family estates. 
At the end of the 19
th
 century, the old nobility of the Hungarian part of the Monarchy, as well as 
elsewhere in Europe, adapted to the “period of the bourgeoisie”, which gained political power and 
set trends in various spheres of life,
24
 including artistic patronage. The old nobility like the Erdödys 
increasingly turned towards its past. Instead of executing new extensive construction projects, 
members of this large and powerful family lived in the residences they had bought and built in the 
previous centuries, with refurbished interiors. The exception to this rule was the more extensive 
rebuilding done on the Bajnski dvori Castle. Owing to some of the Erdödy family members’ interest 
19
 The family branch originating from Vladislaus II Erdödy (1693–1747) which owned the estates of Galgocz, 
Pöstyen, Vep and Szöllos in Hungary split from the rest of the Erdödys in the 18
th
 century and still exists to this 
day. The Croatian side, descendants of Vladislaus’ brother Ljudevit I (1694–1753), came into possession of the 
Croatian properties of Novi Marof, Jastrebarsko and Vidovec.
20
 The Erdödys were especially connected to the Franciscan order; Petar I Erdödy invited them to the estate of 
Cesargrad (Klanjec) and Kotari, and Petar II to Jastrebarsko. Various other members of the family supported the 
Franciscans in Klanjec, Kotari near Samobor, Krapina, Samobor, Kostajnica, Trsat, Remetinec, Karlovac, V araždin 
and Volavje.
21
 The monastery was built in 1632 near the castle Novi Dvori Klanječki erected in 1603. The family’s coat of arms 
and the inscription “Fundatores” can be seen above the entrance. The tin sarcophagus of Mirko Erdödy with four 
figures of kneeling deer is especially interesting. Its formal elements are reminiscent of the Habsburgs’ sarcophagi 
in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna, attributed to Viennese artist Johann Philipp Stumpf. Nela Tarbuk, “Sarcopha-
gus of Count Emerik Erdödy, ” Museum With No Frontiers: Discover Baroque Art, accessed December 15, 2022, 
http://www.discoverbaroqueart.org/database_item.php?id=object;BAR;hr;Mus11_A;45;en.
22
 Bagarić, Botica and Dundović, “Likovna baština, ” 187.
23
 Voit, Der Barock in Ungarn, 57–58.
24
 Sisa, Motherland and Progress, 18.

107
in the new artistic medium of photography, well-preserved collections of photographs provide 
valuable insight into the everyday lives of the members of the family on their estates. Three Erdödy 
properties will be further discussed in this paper—Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof and Bajnski dvori—
based on the surviving photographic documentation and the furnishing of the residences. 
Jastrebarsko was one of the most important Erdödy estates, owned by them from 1519 up until 
1922. It was originally a one-tower castle of the Wasserburg type which was transformed into a four-
wing manor house with arcaded corridors enclosing an inner courtyard and, later, large circular 
corner towers were added. The castle of Jastrebarsko resembles the Stari grad of Varaždin, which 
had also been the property of the Erdödy for four centuries.
25
 Both castles were originally Renais-
sance fortifications, important for the defence of the properties against the Ottomans, and were 
later transformed into residences. In order to turn Jastrebarsko into a residential estate, the Erdödys 
created a park around the castle and built a mill, a granary, a menagerie, a garden as well as a house 
for the estate manager. The surviving photographs and inventory lists of moveable property dating 
from 1828, the time of Juraj Erdödy, show that the castle provided comfortable living conditions for 
its residents: it included a smaller and a larger “palace” (hall) and a steam bath, which was originally 
located by one of the towers. Part of the castle’s original furniture is kept in the Town Museum of 
Jastrebarsko.
26
 Most photographs of the castle were taken by Stjepan IV Erdödy (1848–1922).
27
 This 
nobleman left an important and still insufficiently researched oeuvre of almost 400 photographs 
taken between 1891 and 1911, now in Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. This large collection in-
cludes some of the first photomontages and photographs of suspended movement.
 
His photographs 
of the family estates have exceptional cultural and historical value as they document the appearance 
of the castles of Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof, Szilvás, Stari grad of Varaždin and the ruins of Gornja 
Rijeka. In addition to photography, Stjepan IV Erdödy was also passionate about hunting. Accord-
ingly, he arranged a natural museum dedicated to hunting on the first floor of the Jastrebarsko 
Castle. There are numerous photographs from his collection depicting hunting trophies mounted 
on the walls of the castle, his friends hunting and portraits of hunters with their catch (figs. 2–3). The 
more detailed photographs of the animals show that his interests were of a scientific nature in addi-
tion to a hobby. Photographs of the castle interior, however, are quite rare. It is usually seen only in 
the backgrounds of portraits and group photographs taken with friends and guests in parlours. An 
especially interesting photograph was taken of Viceroy Khuen-Héderváry, a frequent guest of the 
family who can be seen in multiple photographs from Stjepan IV Erdödy’s albums. On this occasion, 
25
 The medieval fortification Stari grad Varaždin, “the door of Styria” , was renovated in the Renaissance period (the 
project by Domenico dell’ Alio from 1544), and later on and permanently inhabited by the family, thus affirming 
their status as prefects of the Varaždin district. The property was brought into the family by Ana Ungnad in 1585 
as a result of her marriage to Toma Erdödy. It remained in the family up until 1925. The Gothic tower surrounded 
by palisades and ditches forms the centre of the construction, around which towers and walls were built with typi-
cal Renaissance biforas. During the time of the Erdödys, a hallway with a balustrade was added to the building. 
The residential rooms and the chapel of St. Lawrence were renovated and an Erdödy and Rakoczy coat of arms 
was placed above the entrance, dating to 1705. Obad Šćitaroci, Dvorci i perivoji, 274–77.
26
 Dobronić, “Dvor Jastrebarsko, ” 156–57.
27
 Count Stjepan IV Erdödy, a politician, naturalist and passionate hunter, was the last owner of the castle. Emperor 
Franz Joseph I awarded him the title of count and took him on as his secret advisor. He died in 1922 and was buri-
ed in Jastrebarsko. The estate, along with its castle and hunting-ground, was bought by industrialist A. Ehrmann. 
See Tatjana Radauš, “Erdödy,” in Hrvatski biografski leksikon, accessed December 15, 2022, https://hbl.lzmk.hr/
clanak.aspx?id=5717. 
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he was photographed sleeping on an ottoman in the Jastrebarsko residence.
28
 The picture also shows 
that parts of the castle’s interior were decorated with Bosnian rugs, a fashionable addition to interior 
furnishing in the period that followed the annexation of Bosnia. Other photographs depict people 
dressed in Turkish clothing, girls with turbans as well as group and individual portraits of people 
dressed alla turca—a description written on the backs of these photographs. 
The Novi Marof estate became an Erdödy property as a result of Elizabeta Batthyany’s and 
Juraj Erdödy’s marriage in the middle of the 17
th 
century. Ljudevit I Erdödy had a new stately home 
built there in 1776 and it remained a property of the family until 1927. The most interesting aspect 
of this two-storey manor house containing elements of late Baroque and Neoclassical architecture 
is its façade with a prominent portico of four Ionic columns and a gable (fig. 4). It is a classic exam-
ple of the Hungarian nobility’s widespread adoption of early Neoclassicism as a visual symbol of 
resistance to the Habsburg court, which was synonymous with Baroque revival architecture at the 
time.
29
 It is interesting to note that the early Neoclassical style was brought to Croatia precisely by 
the Hungarian nobility, exemplified by the Janković Castle in Daruvar and the Esterházy Castle in 
Darda. Information about the life of Erdödy nobles at the estate can be deduced from the partially 
preserved interior furnishing of the castle: the stucco decorations in some of the rooms, stoves and 
28
 Inv. no. MUO-044557/261, Old Photographs Collection, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb.
29
 Sisa, “Neoclassicism, ” 145.
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
2. Stjepan IV Erdödy: Self-portrait with an eagle, 
1907, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb  
(© Muzej za umjetnost i obrt)
3. Stjepan IV Erdödy: Hunting trophies  
in Jastrebarsko Castle, 1902, Museum of Arts and Crafts, 
Zagreb (© Muzej za umjetnost i obrt)

109
the oak-panelled study of the count. The layout of the grounds is interesting as well. The estate in -
cludes a parterre which used to be decorated with an ancient statue of Minerva brought by Rudolf 
Erdödy from an ancient roman bridge built above the river Bednja. The statue was later transferred 
to the Varaždinske Toplice Museum. In terms of its art collection and patronage, the Bajnski dvori 
estate is one of the most prominent among the Erdödy residences, as it was home to one of the most 
extensive art collections in 19
th
-century mainland Croatia. This manorial estate was established 
in 1610 by Hungarian nobles Both de Bajna and the counts Batthány became the subsequent own-
ers through marriage. The estate was purchased in 1864 by Ivan Nepomuk Erdödy (1794–1879), 
who was prefect of the Varaždin district at the time, and his wife Terezija Raczyńska (1820–1909), 
a Polish noblewoman.
30
 This simple Baroque castle was modified and its new elements—a small 
circular tower, an oriel window and a quadrangular tower—were designed and constructed in the 
styles of the Gothic and Romanesque revivals (fig. 5). With the design of the circular corner tower, 
this stately home is in keeping with the style of other Erdödy properties from earlier periods.
 31
 The 
estate became the property of the Festetics family in 1909. In 1919 it was sacked and burnt down 
during the peasants’ and miners’ uprising, which resulted in the destruction of most of its contents. 
30
 Belošević, Županija Varaždinska, 106–08; Obad Šćitaroci, Dvorci i perivoji, 34–37, 88–89.
31
 The castles of Novi dvori klanječki, Kerestinec, Gornja Rijeka, Jastrebarsko, Popovača and Stari grad in Varaždin 
all have corner towers. For more on corner towers in castle architecture and its symbolic meaning in Croatia, see 
Marković, “O baroknim dvorcima, ” 143–57; Botica, “Utjecaj i interpretacija tradicije, ” 46–47.
4. Stjepan IV Erdödy: Novi Marof Castle, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb (© Muzej za umjetnost i obrt)
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It was used as a hospital of the Varaždin Medical Centre after World War II.
32
 Some of its interior 
and the appearance of the surrounding grounds can be seen in Stjepan IV Erdödy’s photographs. 
Additional information about the interior furnishing is offered in a book by Stjepan Belošević, the 
mayor of Varaždin and advisor to the viceroy who visited the stately home in the final years of the 
19
th
 and beginning of the 20
th
 centuries. He noted that the residence held a collection of paintings, 
including works by Murillo, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Kaulbach, Lenbach and “a few 
talented Polish painters”,
33
 as well as expensive furniture made from exotic wood, oriental rugs, 
Venetian chandeliers and porcelain from Sèvres and Vienna. The chapel adjacent to the castle was 
embellished with a maiolica relief executed in the style of the della Robbia workshop and, accord-
ing to legend, a votive painting from the 15
th
 century depicting the Madonna of the Wheat.
The Erdödy nobles did not conduct extensive renovation projects on their properties, as the 
above examples have shown. When it comes to interior furnishing, on the other hand, they tended 
to follow the models and fashions of old European nobility. These nobles associated with members 
of other noble families politically oriented towards Hungary, such as Viceroy Khuen Héderváry, 
who frequently visited them at their Croatian estates. When it comes to castle furnishing and eve-
ryday life, the Erdödys tended to express their personal interests such as hunting and photography. 
It is important to note two exceptional female artists who came from this family:
34
 the opera singer 
32
 Pascuttini-Juraga, “Kulturna baština, ” 88–89.
33
 Artworks were brought here from the estate of Moslavina/Monoszló owned by the Erdödy from 1493 to 1887, 
with a break during the rule of the Ottomans. 
34 
Bagarić, Botica, and Dundović, “Likovna baština, ” 196–97.
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
5. Stjepan IV Erdödy: Bajnski dvori Castle, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb (© Muzej za umjetnost i obrt)

111
Sidonija Erdödy nee Rubido (1819–1884) and the painter Julijana Erdödy Drašković (1847–1901), 
who executed numerous copies of Old Masters as well as a significant number of original works. 
She also shared an interest in photography with other members of the Erdödy family. 
The Properties of the Vranyczány Family: The Swan Song  
of Residential Baroque Stately Homes
The Vranyczánys were one of the most distinguished new noble families in Croatia, important ac-
tors in its social, political and cultural life as well as prominent patrons of modern Croatian artists. 
Numerous aspects of their lives were researched and presented at the exhibition The Magnificent 
Vranyczánys held at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb in 2016 and in the published exhibi-
tion catalogue. This paper focuses on the refurbishing of older Baroque castles purchased by the 
Vranyczánys and transformed into country residences. Numerous photographs from their family 
albums provide an insight into their lives at country estates as well as their frequent social activities 
and parties. The Vranyczánys, originally an old noble family from Bosnia, more precisely Dalma-
tia, moved to Habsburg territory in the 19
th
 century. Ambroz Vranyczány-Dobrinović (1801–1870) 
received a noble title in 1822. Later, in 1862, brothers Ambroz, Juraj, Matija, Nikola and Ivan Antun 
Vranyczány-Dobrinović received baronetcy.
35
 Many members of the family held prominent cul-
tural, social and political roles, such as Ambroz Vranyczány-Dobrinović, one of the leaders of the 
Illyrian movement in Croatia. This nobleman was the president of Matica hrvatska (established in 
1842 as Matica ilirska) from 1851 to 1858 and bequeathed funds for the establishment of the Yugo-
slav Academy of Sciences and Arts founded by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1861.
This paper discusses the furnishing of older Baroque castles in the northern Croatian region 
Hrvatsko zagorje bought by the Vranyczánys. Their castles in Bedekovčina, Sv. Križ Začretje, 
Mirkovec and Oroslavje fulfilled important economic functions in addition to residential ones. 
Photographs from family albums, stories from the family members, especially diplomat Janko 
Vranyczány-Dobrinović (1920–2015) and his friends, and archival documents provide an insight 
into the lives of Vranyczány nobles. The short period of just a few decades during which the family 
owned these estates represent the swan song of the nobility’s countryside lifestyle in north-western 
Croatia. The predominant styles of 19
th
-century interior furnishing of the nobility are Historicist 
and represent the restoration of the style of the Monarchy. The Vranyczánys followed these trends 
and, indeed went a step further, acquiring their furniture directly from Hoflieferanten (Purveyors 
to the Imperial and Royal Court) such as Johann Klöpfer, and their silverware from Christofle & 
Co, as is revealed by purchase receipts found in the Sv. Križ Začretje stately home.
36
 The nobility’s 
tastes were marked by a revival of the past, which was also reflected in their costumed parties, most 
often hosted by Lujo Vranyczány-Dobrinović, owner of the Gornje Oroslavje stately home. They 
dedicated special attention to developing their grounds in the style of English landscape gardens or 
Landschaftsgarten, which always included artificial lakes.
35
 In 1822, the Senj-Severin branch of the family received Austrian and Hungarian noble titles in 1827. The name 
Vranyczány-Dobrinović is used by members of the Rijeka-Karlovac branch, that is, the barons of the family. For 
more about the family’s history, see Regan, “Barunska obitelj Vranyczány-Dobrinović, ” 11–51.
36
 Botica, “Dvorci Vranyczányjevih, ” 130–32.
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The Bedekovčina Castle is a notable example of Baroque architectural heritage in mainland 
Croatia. Erected in the middle of the 18
th 
century, this stately home is one of the most cohesive 
executions of one-wing manor-houses arranged around a T-shaped stairway (fig. 6). Its construc-
tion is attributed to the workshop of Joseph Hoffer (1696–1762) from Maribor.
37
 It was bought by 
Viktor Vranyczány-Dobrinović (1860–1887) in 1887 and inherited by his son Ambroz (1886–1940). 
As the third generation residing on this estate, Janko (1920–2015), Ambroz’s son, grew up in the 
Bedekovčina Castle. A cadastral map from 1897 shows the Vranyczánys’ interventions in the layout 
of the grounds, a newly constructed avenue for accessing the residence, a garden pavilion, a bowl-
ing alley, a Neo-classical orangery which is still preserved to this day, as well as a tennis court and 
a lake. As can be seen in family photographs taken inside the castle, its owners adapted it to turn it 
into a comfortable residential building and decorated the interior with numerous hunting trophies 
and a maiolica relief entitled Madonna della Robbia. They also refurbished the former chapel on the 
upper floor and turned it into a small parlour.
38
 The Vranyczány Castle in Sv. Križ Začretje, situated 
above a valley with an artificial lake, was constructed following a specific design consisting of two 
wings attached at an obtuse angle that form a central projecting block with a prominent tower. As 
such, it is one of the most prominent examples of Baroque castles in Croatia. Janko Vranyczány 
(1858–1933) bought the manor house and estate in 1887, where he held a horse-farm. The castle was 
37
 Marković, Barokni dvori, 8.
38
 Originally, it was two floors high and divided. The kitchen was built on the ground floor and a drawing room on 
the first floor. There was a guest room and an office on the ground floor next to the kitchen and a children’s room, 
a drawing room, a parlour, a large hall, the owners’ bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor.
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
6. Ambroz Vranyczány: Interior of Bedekovčina Castle, Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb 
(© Private collection)

113
purchased by the Sava Banovina from Janko’s widow in 1937 and later on used to house an agricul-
tural school until 2001, when it became a private property. A sketch of the layout made by Tihomil 
Stahuljak contains information on the function of individual rooms in the castle. The sketch is 
based on the memories of Elizabeta Vranyczány from Mirkovec, the owner’s niece.
39
 The family 
resided on the ground floor of the new part of the manor house in the winters and on the first floor 
in the summers. The ground floor included the “aunt’s or Fanny’s room”, a drawing room, an en-
trance hall, a silverware vault, a circular Speiszimmer (dining room), a Gastzimmer (guest house) 
and an elongated room, while the first floor contained another Speiszimmer, an entrance hall and 
drawing room, with the addition of the aunt’s and uncle’s bedroom, a Turmzimmer (tower room) 
for guests, a kitchen and a Wirtschaftsräume (housekeeping room). The interior was furnished 
with dark-toned wallpapers and numerous paintings decorated the walls. The drawing rooms and 
bedrooms were fitted with suites of chairs and mostly altdeutsch (old German) furniture. The castle 
was furnished by the Hoflieferant (court supplier) Johann Klopfer, a tableware set produced by the 
company Christofle & Co (fig. 7) and merchants from Vienna, Varaždin and Prague.
 40
 The castle 
also had a stairway with a balustrade leading from the lake to its tower. It has been only partially 
preserved today, but it can clearly be recognized on a cadastral map from 1895. The family’s favour-
ite photographic motif was the castle’s reflection on the surface of the lake. There are numerous 
photographs of this exact motif in the Album of Real Estate in the Croatian State Archives, as well 
as photographs of horses from Janko Vranyczány-Dobrinović’s horse-farm. Members of the Vra-
nyczány family lived a comfortable life in the Sv. Križ Začretje Castle, which is well-documented 
by their portraits taken in the estate park. There are records of numerous family celebrations on 
the estate and visits from notable guests. King Alexander I, for example, visited this Vranyczány  
39 
The private collection of Tihomil Stahuljak, Zagreb.
40 
Inv. no. 970, Receipt book, State Archives in Varaždin (HR-DAVŽ-SCKR).
7. Receipt from Cristofle & Co, Croatian State Archives, Varaždin (© Hrvatski državni arhiv)
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property on June 5, 1931 (fig. 8). This important visit was mentioned in an article entitled “ A Christ -
mas Report from an Old Castle in Hrvatsko Zagorje” published in the magazine Svijet.
41
 The Mirko-
vec Castle was bought by Ernest Vranyczány (1854–1918) in 1892 and sold by his wife and daughter 
in 1940. Ernest Vranyczány brought a collection of art and furniture to Mirkovec from Kremsegg 
Castle near Linz.
42
 The most famous piece from this collection is a Rococo stove which he kept in 
the drawing room on the first floor, currently on permanent display in the Museum of Arts and 
Crafts in Zagreb. Ernest Vranyczány’s collection of 17
th
-century closets and chests, a tabernacle 
and 18
th
-century wardrobes are just some of the numerous examples that testify to his “love of old 
furniture”, as Tihomil Stahuljak noted. According to Elizabeta Vranyczány-Dobrinović, a sketch of 
the interior arrangement of the castle with markings symbolising the position of the furniture was 
made in September 1967, showing the opulent furnishing of the castle.
43
 
As a large, richly furnished castle with an ornate park, the Gornje Oroslavje estate is defi-
nitely the most significant of the Vranyczány’s properties. Most records and photographs that 
have been preserved relate to this estate. The building belonged to the Sermage family from 1755, 
when it was transformed into a four-wing castle with circular corner towers and a projecting 
block on its main façade. Ljudevit (Lujo) Vranyczány (1840–1922) bought the castle in 1885, along 
with the surrounding land including a forest, an orchard and a mill. He made numerous changes 
to the castle and its surroundings, creating a park and an artificial lake on the estate, as well as 
laying down wooden flooring in the interior. He also installed running water and enlarged the 
windows. His biggest intervention was, however, the addition of a Neo-Baroque eight-column 
altana in front of the façade of main wing which was executed in 1904 by Zagreb architect Ignjat 
Fischer (1870–1948) (fig. 9). The industrialist Milan Prpić bought the castle and all its contents in 
41 
“Božićna reportaža” (A Christmas Report from an Old Castle in Hrvatsko Zagorje).
42
 Paintings depicting scenes from antiquity in the Mirkovec Castle can be seen on photographs from Schneider’s 
archive in HAZU, see Tomić, “Umjetnine starijih povijesnih razdoblja, ” 147–48.
43 
The private collection of Tihomil Stahuljak, Zagreb.
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
8. Visit of King Alexander I  
in Začretje, 1931, photograph 
from Vranyczány-Dobrinović 
Collection, Croatian State 
Archives, Zagreb (© Hrvatski 
državni arhiv)

115
1921.
44
 The function of the castle’s rooms can be deduced based on the ground plan sketch made 
by Ljudevit’s son Milan Vranyczány (1888–1968). The ground floor was used by servants and in -
cluded the housekeeping room, an office, a pantry and storage rooms. The first floor consisted 
of 22 rooms and a big “palace” or salon used by the whole family. The front of the western wing 
included parlours, a library and a large Speisezimmer or dining hall connected to the altana which 
was used for family gatherings. Another rare photograph depicting the robust Neo-Renaissance 
furniture in the castle’s interior indicates the widespread trend of Historicist furnishing of stately 
residences. A detailed inventory of the castle and its belongings from September 21, 1921 reveals 
the lavishness of the interior.
 45
As a passionate botanist, Lujo Vranyczány put considerable effort into the development of 
the Oroslavje grounds. The appearance of the castle’s surroundings is recorded by numerous pho-
tographs of the estate, along with pictures of family members and guests taken in the park and 
around the lake. Following Romantic and Historicist models of landscaping, a mound or artificial 
elevation was made in the park in front of the castle complete with an urn and exotic plants. A ter-
race with a balustrade led from the castle to the lake behind it, along with a wide stairway. A circu-
lar white temple dedicated to the goddess Flora (known as the Tempietto) was built by the lake, as 
well as a Swiss chalet-style house, ruins and an artificial grotto (fig. 10). In the photographs of the 
park and landscape around the castle, these added elements are reflected on the surface of the lake, 
44
 For more on construction phases, see Žmegač and Vojtić, “Dvorac Gornje Oroslavje, ” 247–50. The castle burned 
down in 1947.
45
 Inventory of the Oroslavje property, September 21, 1921, Private collection, Zagreb
9. Ljudevit Vranyczány: Façade of Oroslavje Castle, photograph from Vranyczány-Dobrinović Collection,  
Croatian State Archives, Zagreb (© Hrvatski državni arhiv)
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DUBRAVKA BOTICA
contributing to the rich and exotic appearance of the park. In addition to the elements mentioned 
above, all of which are taken from the rich repertoire of forms commonly applied in Historicist 
landscaping, the Vranyczánys also created Neo-Baroque spiral-pattern boxwood parterres which 
they planted around a fountain in front of the castle. The Neo-Baroque decoration of the park 
culminates in a monumental portal with an ornate wrought iron enclosure and two Baroque stat-
ues depicting Flora and a Satyr brought over from a nearby Baroque castle. The park in Oroslavje 
was developed in Barockromantisch style, which had dominated the landscape architecture of the 
Monarchy since the 1870s. This style, which increasingly began to spread due to the renovation of 
parks surrounding baroque castles, combines elements of Romanticism with those typical of for-
mal French Baroque gardens.
46
 In his letters, Janko Vranyczány-Dobrinović writes that the park in 
Oroslavje was modelled on the “style and tastes of that period (late Napoleon III and the transition 
of the Ringstrassen-Epoche into Jugendstil), and the parterres of Laxenburg and Schönbrunn served 
as primary role models”.
47
 
The owner’s interest in botany is also shown by a large orangery containing rare plants built 
beside the estate’s farm buildings. The orangery was on occasion visited by students and professors 
46
 Hajós, “Garten-, Park- und Landschaftskunst, ” 253.
47
 Letter by Janko Vranyczány-Dobrinović, in Obad Šćitaroci, Dvorci i perivoji, 219.
10. Ljudevit Vranyczány: Lake and Park of Oroslavje Castle, photograph from Vranyczány-Dobrinović Collection,  
Croatian State Archives, Zagreb (© Hrvatski državni arhiv)

117
from the University of Zagreb.
48
 However, Lujo Vranyczány’s main passion was art collection. In a 
report from 1913, the castle is described as a “storehouse of artworks”.
49
 This nobleman was known 
to be one of the most important patrons of modern painters, hosting numerous artists in his castle. 
His Gästebuch or book of guests (kept from 1897 to 1925, later in possession of his daughter Ada) 
contains drawings and written dedications by the most renowned artists of the Croatian art scene 
of the period.
 50
 His relationship with painter Vlaho Bukovac (1855–1922) is especially interesting 
as the artist executed numerous portraits of the Vranyczány family members, including Ljudevit 
Vranyczány himself. In 2022, these works were exhibited at the Klovićevi dvori Gallery.
51
 The Vra-
nyczány’s rich social life took place at the Oroslavje estate, with plenty of photographs recording 
opulent family celebrations and masquerades directed by nobleman Stjepan Miletić: 
[...] masqueraded harlequins climbed the façade of Oroslavje and shouted out during 
the annual costumed festivities of the Zagorje aristocracy. These events were attended 
by counts and barons of the Erdödy, Vojkffy, Bombelles, Rauch, Kulmer, Vranyczány, 
Hellenbach, Drašković, Oršić, Bedeković, Matačić families and other ‘noble lords’. Multi-
coloured fireworks exploded alongside the gleaming illumination of the castle and the 
park, piercing the warm evening air and the night sky.
52
 
In addition to masquerade parties, the owner’s name-day celebrations with festivities and dances 
in the estate gardens were held every year on August 25. With these gatherings, the baroque world 
of opulent garden celebrations in Lujo Vranyczány’s Oroslavje was revived one final time. 
By refurbishing old castles and adopting them into comfortable residences on prosperous 
estates or country residences near the city of Zagreb, the noble family Vranyczány-Dobrinović 
gave their Baroque castles a new lease of life in the 19
th
 century. They furnished them in the style 
and fashions of Historicism, giving expression to a greater variety of decorative solutions than the 
Erdödy family. The owners brought over their own furniture and artworks from other residences—
the owner of the Bedekovčina estate, for example, brought artworks from her family villa in Vo-
losko, while Ernest Vranyczány-Dobrinović transferred furniture he collected from various parts 
of the Monarchy to his Mirkovec estate. Considering the contrast between Ernest’s impassioned 
collection of old furniture and Lujo’s decision to furnish his most luxurious estate with merely 
average furniture, it could be said that the Vranyczány treated their interiors as expressions of per-
sonal tastes.
53
 Lujo, for example, cared much more about the appearance of his park and his large 
painting collections of both Old Masters and modern artists, as is shown by his gallery-like Zagreb 
48
 The orangery was visited by Dr Antun Heinz (1861–1919), university professor at the Department of Mathema-
tics and Science of the University in Zagreb and the founder of the Botanical Garden in Zagreb.
49
 Report on this visit to the Oroslavje castle in “O posjetu ‘Zmajevaca Oroslavju’ , ” 181–82.
50
 Drawings and dedications were made by Vlaho Bukovac, Viktor Kovačić, Ivan Meštrović, Bela Čikoš Sesija, Oton 
Iveković, Robret Frangeš, Robert Auer, Nikola Mašić, Tomislav Krizman and others.
51
 An interesting piece of evidence of the relationship of the Vranyczány’s to Bukovac is a photograph showing 
Bukovac while the portrait of Ljudevit Vranyczány-Dobrinović was painted. On more about the nobleman's rela-
tionship with the painter, see Damjanović and Iveljić, “Vlaho Bukovac, ” 142–45, 150–52.
52
 Blašković, “Hrvatsko zagorje, ” 38.
53
 Contemporaries described the furniture in Oroslavje as “low-quality furniture from the second half of the 19
th
  century” , highlighting only the “sets made from horns of Hungarian oxen” as a curiosity. Folder Oroslavje, Private 
collection of Tihomil Stahuljak, Zagreb.
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118
DUBRAVKA BOTICA
palace.
54
 The Vranyczány family paid a lot of attention to botany and built orangeries by each of 
their castles, such as the functional orangery used as a plant hotbed in Začretje and the exotic plant 
orangery in Oroslavje. In conclusion, the new nobility adapted their residences to their personal 
affinities and tastes noticeably more than the old nobility. 
Both of these groups, however, expressed an interest in photography, influenced by what an 
Italian contemporary of theirs called “photomania”.
55
 With photography, the Erdödy and Vranyc-
zány nobility recorded their everyday lives and family gatherings, taking more pictures outside due 
to the technical limitations of the new medium. Stjepan Erdödy showed an interest in the estates 
themselves and his family history, photographing villagers from Jastrebarsko as well. The photo al-
bums from the collections of the Vranyczány-Dobrinović abound with shots of castle interiors, the 
furnishings and especially their parks and lakes. A documentary-style approach can be discerned 
in the photographs of Ambroz Vranyczány-Dobrinović of Bedekovčina, who took pictures of a va-
riety of social groups. An interesting example is his photograph of villagers at mass in Bedekovčina 
with the inscription “bei meinen Croaten” (“with my Croats”). Ljudevit Vranyczány-Dobrinović, 
on the other hand, enjoyed shooting dynamic diagonal compositions of the Oroslavje park, as well 
as photomontages.
56
In conclusion, the old and the new nobility, exemplified by the Erdödy and the Vranyczány-
Dobrinović families, furnished their castles and shaped their lives at the end of the 19
th
 century 
following Historicist trends in interior decoration and lifestyle. Both families affirmed their social 
standing through their interest in and patronage of art, a cultural domain where the Erdödy were 
more active in the earlier periods. The Vranyczány-Dobrinović family, on the other hand, actively 
partook in the art world of the 19
th
 century, leaning towards new artistic tendencies. This family 
also expressed a wider range of interests in their photography and a more developed sense of per-
sonal taste in their interior decoration. Whether inherited from other parts of the family or newly 
acquired, these Baroque castles were adapted for residential purposes, thus undergoing one final 
revival of their original function. The inter-war and post-war decades that followed soon after this 
prosperous period resulted in the extinction of the castles’ original functions and, more often than 
not, the irreparable destruction of these valuable properties. 
54
 Tomić, “Umjetnine starijih povijesnih razdoblja, ” 148–51.
55
 Tonković, “Theatrum mundi, ” 245.
56
 Photographs taken by Ljudevit Vranyczány-Dobrinović stand out from others in the family albums due to their 
high quality. He participated as one of 10 photographers in the Trade fair in Zagreb in 1864, see Tonković, 
“Theatrum mundi,” 244, 250.

119
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Novo življenje baročnih gradov v severozahodni Hrvaški
Prenova gradov rodbin Erdödy in Vranyczány konec 19. in v začetku 20. stoletja
Povzetek
V članku so predstavljeni oprema podeželskih rezidenc, zbirateljstvo in umetnostno naročništvo članov 
rodbin Erdödy in Vranyczány-Dobrinović, predstavnikov starega in novega plemstva, ki so imeli 
pomembno vlogo v družbenem in političnem življenju Hrvaške. Erdödyji so bili ena najstarejših in 
najpomembnejših plemiških rodbin, ki je imela posesti na historičnem teritoriju Madžarske in Hrvaške. 
Pripadniki mlajšega plemstva, rodbina Vranyczány-Dobrinović, so bili pokrovitelji vidnejših umetnikov 
19. stoletja in podporniki kulturnih ustanov, ki so širile ilirsko gibanje. Člani rodbine Erdödy so svoje 
gradove Jastrebarsko, Novi Marof in Bajnski dvori prenovili skladno z novimi trendi in jih opremili s 
historicističnim pohištvom in likovnimi deli večinoma starih mojstrov. Člani rodbine Vranyczány-
Dobrinović pa so svoje gradove konec 19. stoletja spremenili v udobne rezidence – v cvetoče posesti 
ali pa v podeželska bivališča v bližini Zagreba, tako kot npr. Oroslavje. Njihova oprema sledi modi 
historicističnega okusa s celo vrsto dekorativnih rešitev, ob tem pa v primerjavi z opremo rodbine Erdödy 
močneje izraža osebni okus posameznih članov rodbine. Ernest V ranyczány je svoj grad Mirkovec opremil 
z visoko kakovostnim baročnim in rokokojskim pohištvom, Ljudevit Vranyczány pa se je bolj posvečal 
neobaročnemu in romantičnemu parku na posesti v Gornjem Oroslavju, ki je postala srečevališče tedanje 
hrvaške umetniške srenje. V svojem navdušenju za botaniko so člani rodbine Vranyczány-Dobrinović na 
svojih posestih v krajih Bedekovčina, Mirkovec in Oroslavje zgradili oranžerije za eksotične rastline, na 
posestvu Začretje pa rastlinjake, ki so imeli tudi gospodarsko in kmetijsko funkcijo. Obe rodbini sta se 
zanimali za nov umetnostni medij – fotografijo. Njihovi fotografski albumi in zbirke so polni portretov, 
posnetih v vrtovih in na lovu. Stjepan IV . Erdödy se je posvetil dolgi rodbinski zgodovini in dokumentiral 
vse rodbinske posesti, v prostem času pa je hodil na lov in proučeval živali. V fotografskih albumih rodbine 
Vranyczány so po drugi strani zajete dinamične kompozicije parka v Oroslavju s številnimi gosti, odsev 
romantičnega parka na gladini jezera, pa tudi vsakdanje življenje vaščanov, ki jih je skozi objektiv ujel 
Ljudevit Vranyczány. Ne glede na to, ali so bili ti baročni gradovi podedovani ali kupljeni pred nedavnim, 
so bili prenovljeni v rezidenčne namene, s tem pa jim je bila še zadnjič dana njihova prvotna funkcija. 
Medvojna leta in prva desetletja po drugi svetovni vojni, ki so sledila temu razcvetu, so tem gradovom 
prinesla povsem nove funkcije in v večini primerov nepopravljivo uničenje dragocenih posesti.  
THE NEW LIFE OF BAROQUE CASTLES IN NORTH-WESTERN CROATIA: THE RENOVATION OF THE ERDÖDY AND VRANYCZÁNY FAMILIES’ CASTLES...