Grožnjan

History

In Grožnjan are found ancient Roman artifacts and near Grožnjan is the remains of a Roman house, but the first mention of Grožnjan dates from 1102, when Margrave of Istria Ulric II and his wife Adelaida granted their land to Patriarch of Aquileia. In this document the fort is called Castrum Grisiniana. In 1238 Grožnjan was the property of Vicardo I Pietrapalosa. In 1286, Grožnjan fort was lent to the Aquileian patriarch during war with Venice but changed sides in 1287, and Grožnjan was given to Venice. Vicardo's son Pietro inherited Grožnjan after his father's death in 1329, and when he died in 1339 it again became the patriarch's property. The patriarch rented it to a Friuli noble family, de Castello. In 1354 Grožnjan's new owner became Volrich, or Ulrich, Reifenberg, who in 1358 sold it to Venice for 4,000 ducats in order to pay his debts. Volrich was a son of Deitalm, a descendant of Aquileian patriarch Volcher, and in 1356, during the war between Venice and Hungary, his army, entrenched in Grožnjan, strongly resisted the Hungarian army. Yet it seems that at the same time Volrich negotiated the surrendering of Grožnjan in Venice. Venice took Grožnjan over in 1358 and ruled until the demise of the Venetian Republic in 1797. In 1359 the Umag captain Pietro Dolfin moved to his new residence in Grožnjan, and in 1360 and 1367 he fortified the town walls and renovated the palace. Captain's Office moved from Grožnjan to Raspo in 1394, when a central rule was established for the whole area. Since then Grožnjan was governed by Venetian noblemen who were given the title of "Mayor". From the early 16th century Grožnjan's mayors were chosen among Koper noblemen. In the 15th century judicial duties were performed by the Pietrapelosas, and in 1446 the town walls were fortified…