DURDEVAC CASTLE - CROATIA
The Legend of the Rooster
There
are other places where a similar legend appears, and certainly similar
tactics,
but the Legend of the rooster is played out at the
castle in the little old town of Djurdjevac (Stari Grad Ðurdevac)
with colorful costumes and remembrance of its place in history. The
story goes that in the 16th Century, after the fall of Virovitica to
the Turks in 1552, the military outpost at Durdevac was the closest
to the Turkish border (see Wine
Hotel Vinarija), guarding the route
west. The Turks had assaulted the castle several times, 
and as was
the purpose of medieval castles (burg), the villagers would gather
inside
the walls for protection. In
a final attack, the Turkish srmy under Ulama-Bey laid siege to starve
them into submission. Down to their
last rooster, an old woman of the villiage came to the captain
of the garrison with an idea. They made the bird crow and crow as
if
it were
many,
then shot the bird out of a cannon to demonstrate to the Turks they
had plenty of food. The Turks were fooled by the trick and
abandoned the assault. The town was saved and the locals thereafter
liked to call themselves
the Pickoki - the Roosters.
The
Djurdjevac Castle itself is a beautiful example of the what is
called a Wasserburg, a lowland fortress castle built primarily
for military defense, essentially a single irregular octagonal
structure with an
inner
courtyard and one gate tower. No grand royals lived within its
walls, the upper floor of the fortress housed the soldier barracks,
the officers in the tower and the courtyard held the horses and weapons.
The Djurdjevac
Castle now houses the city’s
art museum, which they like to refer to as the Louvre of Croatia.
A little ambitious, but the museum
collection
holds 2,000 works donated by local "naive" artist Ivan
Lackovic Croata, only a portion of which are hung amoung the
open wooden beams
in the circular former
barracks hall. The annual Picokijada
Festival held in Durdevac the last weekend of
June celebrates the events of the famous battle with concerts,
sporting events and art displays, but smaller medieval reenactments
are held
at the castle on other weekends from spring to fall with a chance
to watch a swordfight or learn the crafts of the time with locals
in costume,
an entertaining show for kids.
Durdevac
may not be a destination of itself, but well worth a stop if
finding oneself passing
through the Podravina Valley on a tour of the wine vineyards
covering the gentle slopes through
this lovely
central
west region of Croatia between the Drava River (see Tvarda
Osijek)
and the wooded Bilogora hills. In the center of town, a stroll
from the castle, the Church of St
George
is
a lovely revival of an earlier Romanesque and Byzantine church
with Baroque sculptures, and
keep an
eye up for the storks which nest on the roofs very common in
this part of Croatia. The Picok
Hotel in Durdevac is a modern and comfortable
hotel (though they don't yet have online booking), with an
excellent restaurant, (and a Disco Club - popular for wedding
receptions)
serving local Croatia specialties,
the regional
cakes and
home-baked
corn bread, as well as the favorite local recipe for chicken,
though served at your table and fortunately not shot from a
cannon. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
VARAZDIN - CROATIA'S BAROQUE CITY
ZRINSKI CASTLE MUSEUM - CAKOVEC
PEJACEVIC CASTLE MUSEUM - NAŠICE
