Rušinac Castle

Rušinac Castle, locally known as Kaštel Rušinac, lies in the town of Kaštel Lukšić, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

After the fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, being part of the Venetian Republic, faced the danger of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners; the Split Archbishopric, monasteries and nobles from Trogir and Split, therefore wished to protect their estates and the villagers working for them. So, during the following decades they started to build 17 fortifications and fortified 12 villages along the coast of the Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split.

Rušinac Castle was one of these fortifications. It was built at the end of the 15th century by Mihovil Rosani (Rušinić) from Trogir, after he had gotten permission from the Venetian authorities in 1482. It was built on some coastal rocks along the shore and was more like a fortified tower house than a castle. A small area on the shore was then also fortified with a defensive wall with corner towers. Within that area a small settlement of local farmers was erected.

Because of the poor defensive quality of the village, it was abandoned during the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War (1645-1669) when the villagers sought refuge in the stronger village of nearby Vitturi Castle.

At present Rušinac Castle seems to be a private residence and can not be visited. Not a very interesting site.

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