Novi Vinodolski

In January 1288 representatives of nine communities of the Vinodol valley met in the castle here and set down the Vinodol Code, a written statement of the customary law they already lived by, recorded in Croatian in the Glagolitic script. It is among the oldest surviving legal texts in any Slavic language and among the earliest in Croatian, and it matters because it fixed existing local custom against the feudal claims being pressed from outside. The Frankopan castle where it was agreed stands above the town and holds a museum; the town below is a modest resort on the Kvarner coast.

Background

Locals often shorten the name to Novi, and in Italian it is Novi del Vinodol or Novi in Valdivino. The House of Frankopan built the town in the 13th century after acquiring the area. Besides the fortress and castle, its heritage takes in what remains of a Pauline monastery, a cathedral, Trinity Church, the island church of Saint Marinus, the house of the Mažuranić brothers and a library built in 1845. The Vinodol Valley behind the town is used for farming and vines, and is linked with the Vinodol Hydroelectric Power Plant, fed by reservoirs in Gorski Kotar. The 2021 census counted 3,336 people in the town and 4,328 in its wider area.

Source: Wikipedia, "Novi Vinodolski"

Highlights

• Where the Vinodol Code was agreed - January 1288, in the castle.
• Among the oldest Slavic law texts - written in Glagolitic script.
• The Frankopan castle - above the town, with a museum.
• A working coastal town - resort development along the shore.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

What to expect

The original manuscript is not here - what the museum holds is context and copies. The town is an ordinary coastal resort with pebble and concrete beaches. The castle keeps limited hours off season.

Nearby

Crikvenica is north; the Vinodol valley runs inland behind.

Key facts