Its name originating from the oak forests of the area (Dub or Dab = Oak), the Old Town of Dubovac dates back to the 13th century.  Dubovac Castle is only a short walk away from the centre of town (northwest from the star), just head for the highest hill your eye can see. Once you reach the top of the castle-s prehistoric hill, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of the city below and its long stretching Kupa River.  The castle was built in the 13th century for the Gorić-Babonić counts and further expanded upon in the 15th century where the castle was rebuilt in Renaissance fashion.  The former owners included the noble Slavonian Sudars (1387) and the Frankopans (1442).  By the 16th century, it had passed into the hands of Stjepan Frankopan’s sister Katarina as a wedding gift when she married the famous Croatian nobleman and warrior, Nikola Šubić Zrinski.  Gašpar Šubić Peranski possessed the property in 1576 and in the later part of the 16th century Dubovac Castle was used as a granary as the developing town of Karlovac became an important trade centre.  The keep, then entered by a small drawbridge, was used as a jail.  From 1671 onwards until the arrival of the French in 1809, the old city was owned by the generals of Karlovac.  In 1837 Earl Laval Nugent restored it in the spirit of Romanticism.  It was later bought by the city of Dubovac in 1896.
Perfectly located, the preserved castle and tower is remarkably charming….you almost expect to see figures from another era dashing about.
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Located on Strossmayer Square, the permanent exhibition pertains to the identity of Karlovac and is held in its oldest yet quite appealing town palace which dates to the 17th century Baroque period. The palace was built as a residence and headquarters by the Karlovac General Vurk Frankopan. The museum’s entire collection boasts details from prehistoric artifacts to cultural exhibits, to 20th century ethnographic fashion, all appropriately related to Karlovac, its people and its experiences thus far.
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This intriguingly distinctive building was built in 1891 to serve as an exhibition piece for the main exhibition fair in Zagreb.  Several years later in 1897, the new owner becomes Wilhelm Friedrich Katzler, a gardner, and he begins to utilise this pavilion as a floristry, where it overflowed with flowers and plants that attracted the romantic passers-by.  It also served as a gallery space for the well-known Croatian painter Oskar Herman (from the Munich circle).  Recently restored, the pavilion still stands proudly, now housing a modest collection of antiques and memorabilia of Karlovac’s past.  Step inside to step back and glimpse into time.  Souvenirs in photographs, postcards, paintings and memorial coins can be purchased here.
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