blnd!

Asseria, ruins of the Liburnian hillfort settlement near Benkovac, Croatia

The Old Town of Ribnik (Stari grad Ribnik), which lies on the Novo Mesto - Karlovac road in Croatia, is ‘an important example of “Wasserburg”, a castle that is surrounded by water.’

The 14th century building is a very rare example of a medieval lowland water fortress, but it was not so much a castle, but a fortified town surrounded by the Obvr stream. (It reminded me a bit of this tulou in Fujian, China.) Apparently, in case of danger the inhabitants would block the stream thereby creating a pond (or a moat), in the middle of which stood Ribnik, on an island. The town, built on two floors, was approachable only by a drawbridge. By the 16th century the water was too low but the name (which means pond) remained.

In 1394 Ribnik was sold to the Frankopan (Frankopani / Frangepan) family who owned it until 1576, when it passed to the Zrinski (Zrinyi) family and thereafter it changed hands several times. The Frankopan’s coat of arms is visible above the gate on the East tower.

There is a possibility that the town was first protected by a palisade and the Romanesque tower (15) on the East (15) which used to be much taller. This theory could explain the irregular plan of the building.

Bodo Ebhardt, Der Wehrbau Europas im Mittelalter, vol 3 (Würzburg 1999 (Reprint)), 571.

The smaller tower on the west (9) probably used to house a chapel. A covered wooden gallery runs along the inner courtyard on the East.

The East entrance on the ground floor (16) is a late Gothic addition when comfort became more important than defensibility. The building has numerous additions and alterations, some important details survive, others have been lost or irreversibly damaged.

The East gate was blocked up at some point later (although it is now opened up again) and the original entrance was put back to use on the first floor of the North facade (13).

Apparently the rooms on the South side (2 – 4) were residences, but there is no key for (5 – 11) and I was unable to find anything substantial on the architectural history of the building.

Radoslav Lopašić (1835-1893) - Ribnik. (Sa istočne strane / From the East) from: Radoslav Lopašić, Oko Kupe i Korane (Zagreb 1895), 231.

Ribnik is currently private property and is often used for film shootings. It seems that some parts have been restored (and it looks more or less watertight), but often without consideration to the integrity of this important building.

Photos of the interior: http://mapio.net/pic/p-34219546/

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5770505,15.350344,273m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4?hl=en

Sources (in Croatian):

http://ribnicka-dolina.com/st_grad.html

http://www.antoniosiber.org/ribnik.html

http://landmarkings.com/ribnik_povijest_hr.php

Scotland, as most developed countries, is home to a large population of feral shopping carts. The photo depicts a shy specimen from the Lidl subfamily before submerging into the filthy waters of Den Burn, Aberdeen. 

Feral shopping carts live near large human settlements and they don't normally stray far (although it is possible to spot some specimen in remote locations). They are particularly abundant around the outskirts of big cities, but can also be found in parks, low quality urban places and local nature reserves. Feral shopping carts can have a significant impact on an ecosystem, however they usually fail promptly outside domestication as they are not known to be able to reproduce reliably in the wild. 

Ballochbuie Forest (with Craig Doin in the background), Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.