Pazin Castle

Pazin Castle, the Kaštel, stands above the deep gorge of the Pazinčica river at the heart of the Istrian peninsula, in the town of Pazin. It is the largest and best-preserved castle in Istria, built up from the 10th century onward and reshaped over the centuries into the mix of medieval, Renaissance and baroque forms that stands today. It now houses the Pazin town and regional museum.

The draw is not just the castle but the chasm it sits over, the Pazinska jama, a deep limestone gorge into which a stream drops and vanishes underground. The chasm is famous in literature, Jules Verne used it in his novel “Mathias Sandorf”, and Dante is said to have drawn on it for the imagery of the underworld. You can walk along the rim and, for the adventurous, descend partway on a via ferrata and a zip line.

The castle’s museum covers the ethnography and history of Istria, and there is a memorial collection to the Croatian writers who studied at the local gymnasium. The town itself, on its hill in the centre of Istria, is a useful crossroads base for exploring the interior.

For photographers, the chasm from the castle terrace is the image, and the zip line gives an aerial angle if you ride it. Bring shoes with grip for the gorge paths.

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