Karlovac Zvijezda

Karlovac was founded in 1579 on a flat site between four rivers and built to a single plan: a six-pointed star, with earth ramparts and a moat around a grid of streets and a central square, laid out as a fortress town on the military frontier facing the Ottoman advance. It was named for Archduke Charles, who ordered it. The star is still legible in the street plan and in the surviving sections of rampart and moat, which are now green space walked as a circuit. The fortifications were never much tested and were converted to parkland in the nineteenth century, so what remains is the geometry rather than the defences.

What you actually see

• A six-pointed star from 1579 - built complete on empty ground.
• A grid inside the points - the original street plan, still in use.
• Rampart and moat sections - now green space walked as a circuit.
• A frontier fortress town - built against the Ottoman advance.

When to go

Year round. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The star reads best from the air or a plan; on the ground it takes some attention. Many buildings inside are ordinary and some are in poor repair. Karlovac was shelled in the 1990s and traces remain in places.

Nearby

The Korana and Mreznica rivers are at the edges of town; Zagreb is north-east.