Čanjevo Fortress

Čanjevo Fortress is located on the southwestern slopes of the Kalnik Mountains in the Municipality of Visoko, which territorially belongs to Varaždin County. There are very few historical sources about the fort, and more serious archeological research and excavations began only in 2003.In the area of today's remains of the Čanjevo fortress in the Copper Age, there was a smaller settlement whose inhabitants belonged to the so-called Retz - Cayary culture and lived in the area from Hrvatsko Zagorje to Western Slavonia in the period from 3400 to 2500 BC. Kr. Their settlement was inherited by members of the Vučedol culture, immigrants from Slavonia, who lived here from 2500 to 2300 BC. Kr. It is very likely that the settlement existed much later, in the Vinkovci culture, during the Early Bronze Age, when this position was abandoned for a long time.

The medieval fortress was built probably in the 15th century as a burg of the Špirančić family. In the 16th century it was taken over by the Praškoci family. During the second half of the 16th century, it was transformed into a military fortress for the purpose of monitoring and guarding the border with the Ottoman Empire, and a crew of soldiers - harams - was housed in the fortress. Their task was to protect the civilian population and guard the border in this part of the Kalnik mountain massif. After the second half of the 17th century, the fortress is no longer mentioned in the sources, but archeological findings testify that it was abandoned and demolished only during the first half of the 18th century. Then the building material was partially blown up or collapsed into the base.

During 2003, comprehensive archaeological research began on the organization of the Municipality of Visoko, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Restoration Institute. The aim of the research is to obtain more historical information about the importance, appearance and physiognomy of the fort itself, the construction of the excavated walls and their presentation for cultural and tourist purposes.Every year in October, the battle for Čanjevo is held on the fort itself, which depicts the conflict between the Ottoman army and the Visoko harams. The battle is organized by the high association of Praškocij's haramija, whose basic preoccupation is the research and popularization of the fortress and its history. Every year, a large number of visitors gather at this event, both locals and guests from all over Varaždin and neighboring counties, and it is the only event that raises citizens' awareness of this important part of our history and cultural heritage.