The Witches of Ogulin

There is a little fairy tale town in Croatia called Ogulin. The town is small and the people are friendly. Fairy Tales are for children you say, not true say the people from Ogulin, not true!
I stayed at The Hotel Frankopan during my visit to this magical little town. The Frankopan is located in the very heart of the fairy tale town next door to the 16th century Frankopan Castle.
Ogulin grew around The Frankopan fortress-castle, which was built by the aristocratic family Frankopan. Prince Bernardin Frankopan, son of Stjepan, in his town of Modrus around 1500, issued a document to the newly built town of Ogulin, by which he marked the boundary between Modrus and Vitunj on the first geographical map of Croatia, Ogulin was called Julin Grad, linking the name of the town to the legend of Dula, who threw herself into the gorge of the River Dobra due to a broken heart.
The flow of the River Dobra ends in a canyon passing through the very center of town. The river disappears through a huge opening under the sharp cliffs. The abyss of the River Dobra got it's name from this young girl Dula. The legend dates back from the 16th century. Dula was of notible origin and her parents promised her to an elderly nobleman. However, a young handsom Captain, Milan Juraic arrived in Ogulin and stole Dulas heart. It was love at first sight! Milan was killed in battle while defending the Frankopan Castle and when Dula heard the news she couldn't bare the thought of life without Milan and threw herself into the abyss of the River Dobra. If you look closly at the rock above the abyss you can see the profile of a man looking down into the deapths. The people of Ogulin believe that this is the face of Milan gazing towards his beloved Dula. Legend says that if you listen very carefully, early in the morning you can hear Dula's spirited sobs echo from the canyon.
Dula is not the only women to have had her heart broken by a man, but she is the only one to still show her spirit in the canyon of the River Dobra.
The near by Mountain of Klek has also been inspired by folk imagination, resulting in the legend of the 'Witches of Klek'. According to the legend, in the midnight hour on stormy nights, Klek becomes the meeting place of witches,warlocks, fairies, and elves from around the world. It is said that they fly down from the mountain and storm through the village and if you listen very carefully you can hear the mighty rumpus from the mountain echo through the town of Ogulin
During my visit to this cute little town I never heard Dula's cries nor did I see any witches in flight, but I did find some spirited fun locals to visit with at The St Hubert Hotel.
My time spent in Ogulin was short, but my memories will last a lifetime. I remain in contact with a few special people from Ogulin. My last night out on the town will forever stay in my memory and I still laugh out loud today when I think about the fun that was has in the samll little town of Ogulin. KAAATSIEEE!!!

www.hotel-frankopan.hr
www.sthubert.hr