Is there Anything to See in Karlovac, Croatia?

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For my trip to Croatia last winter, a goal of mine was to prove that the country had more to offer than its coastline. That meant heading inland to places that may get less attention. Given how famous Plitvice Lakes are, I had no worries there, even in winter.

I was fairly confident with places like Varazdin and Rastoke, with a decent idea that they would deliver. Really, my biggest gamble was the small city of Karlovac in Croatia’s north. Relatively unknown, this city sits at a crossroads between the coast and hinterland, so most pass through and don’t stop. All of this begs the question, is there anything to see in Karlovac?

City of Karlovac and Local Tourism

If you’ve been to Croatia you may actually recognise the name of Karlovac, but probably didn’t know it was a town. That’s because Karlovac is home to Croatia’s most popular beer label, Karlovačko. As such, brewing is one of the city’s main industries along with firearms manufacture.

In terms of history, Karlovac owes its creation to the repeated attacks of the Ottomans against the Austrian Empire. The Austrians actually built Karlovac as a defensive outpost in the 16th century, likely in part because of the Kupa and Korana rivers that provide some natural defences. By the 18th century, Karlovac was released to Croatia and nowadays is best known today for its parks and riverfronts.

I remember having a good chat with one of the local restaurant owners who was clearly bored seeing as I was the only one other person there. He was curious of my plans, correctly guessing that I was heading to the coast, but surprised by my timing. Apparently, Karlovac sees next to no tourists anytime but summer, when through-traffic absolutely sky rockets. So each summer he needs to hire and train up new seasonal staff, a situation he clearly wasn’t a fan of.

While people often think of sustainable tourism as an environmentally focused concept, it’s just as applicable to these issues too. More needs to be done to help resolve these kinds of aggressive swings from one extreme to the other. For me, our conversation was a timely reminder how important off-season travel, something I hope you’ll all consider when possible.

Town Centre

But again, I haven’t really addressed whether there are things to do in Karlovac, have I? In terms of sightseeing, the natural place to start is with the town centre. Since Karlovac started as a military frontier and only really grew to a small regional hub between the coast and capital, you can’t expect it to have the same level of grandeur as say Zagreb. That being said, I was impressed by some of the buildings found around the city even with their worn architecture.

I think it would be fair to say though that Karlovac hasn’t had a lot of money invested into its upkeep and restoration. Looking around the city, there were quite a few abandoned buildings, some of which I’m sure would be really impressive if there was money to preserve them. Money for these kinds of things is a luxury for sure and its understandable that the local government maybe doesn’t have that capacity right now. Perhaps one day though?

Don’t get me wrong though, Karlovac isn’t a ghost town or anything. Walking around its inner city streets, you do get the sense of a community here, especially one where tourists like myself stand out.

Old Walls of Karlovac

Given as Karlovac started out as a defensive frontier, it’s hardly surprising that the city was walled at one point. As the city grew in the 18th and 19th centuries the walls were removed to allow for the expanding population, much like other cities in Europe, such as Vienna and Krakow. In their place now are grassy parks, but the outlines of these parks clearly betray their pasts. It also helps that occasionally small remnants of the walls can be seen still in place.

Dubovac Castle

To me, the real highlight of my visit to Karlovac was Dubovac Castle. My love of castles is no secret and although Dubovac isn’t huge, it certainly fits the bill. Walking well out of the town centre, I came to the foot of a noticeable hill in the city’s west. The direct path at the northern end wasn’t obvious to me (Dubovac Street, go figure), so I went up past the cemetery and curled up around Zagrad street which was itself quite a beautiful route.

What you find at the top of the hill is the square castle, dominated by its single lofty tower. It requires zero imagination to picture it as an important defensive stronghold, given its look and strategic position. It’s said to be one of the best preserved feudal buildings in the country and I don’t think I’ve seen anything else like it in Croatia.

Sitting on a hill, the castle of Dubovac rests above the city, overlooking both the Kupa River and Kozjaca Forest. Inside there’s a small museum about the region, but more importantly, great views of Karlovac and its rivers.

Other Sights of Karlovac

Beyond the places I’ve mentioned, I didn’t find many more spots that would really stand out to tourists. Ban Josip Jelacic Square is the main city square, and besides the monument at its centre seen above, it wasn’t much to look at. Even here, there were large buildings that were boarded off.

The Presvetog Trojstva church here was hard to miss mind you, but I don’t know much more about it than that. Certainly one of the grander sights in Karlovac is the Zorin Dom city theatre, right at the western end of the main park.

If you do choose to visit Karlovac, perhaps you’ll have better luck finding sights and attractions. If any locals want to offer recommendations, I’m always happy for that kind of feedback for future visitors.

Visiting Karlovac

So after reading all of the above, and you decide to see this city for yourself, here’s what you need to know. Karlovac is a major transit bus station between Zagreb, the coast and Plitvice Lakes, so reaching Karlovac isn’t all that hard to do. There’s a train station too here but I can’t really speak to that. Both are a pretty easy walk to the city centre, which is always welcome for backpackers like myself.

Honestly, there’s way more accommodation available in Karlovac than I ever would have anticipated. Perhaps it’s there waiting for high season, I don’t know. Most of it seems to be guesthouses and apartments, as was Rooms and Apartments Veral-KA where I stayed. For a night, it was everything I needed, so I have no qualms about recommending it.

As for the restaurant I mentioned earlier, Konoba Kostanjac is a great place to grab a bite. It’s a typical Croatian restaurant with plenty of regular dishes and seafood, plus interestingly, craft beers from across Croatia. Good food and terrific value.

Do you think you’d stop in at Karlovac while in Croatia? Do you have any special recommendations for people visiting Karlovac? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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