Old Town of Ogulin
Around the year 1500, the feudal lord Count Bernardin Frankopan had the Ogulin Castle built on the very edge of the cliffs above the canyon of the Dobra River.
It was constructed during an unstable and dangerous period as one of a series of fortifications intended to defend against Ottoman expansion, after the Ottomans had devastatingly destroyed the powerful Frankopan fortified town of Modruš.
At the same time as the Frankopan castle, the court chapel of St. Bernardine was built and dedicated by Count Bernardin Frankopan to his heavenly namesake. Throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries—until the construction of the new Parish Church of the Holy Cross—religious services were held in this chapel.
After its construction, due to frequent Ottoman incursions, several families from nearby settlements moved to the area and built wooden houses right next to the fortress. Thus, already in the first half of the 16th century, the Ogulin market town was formed, surrounded by towers, semi-towers, and walls connected to the fortress.
In 1553, the Ogulin fortress was occupied by a military garrison of King Ferdinand I, and from 1570 Ogulin became the seat of the 13th Border Captaincy, which was considered the most important in the entire Croatian Military Frontier (Vojna krajina).