THE CASTLE IN OSP (MerlinCV)

The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1067, when Heinrich IV gave the villages situated in the bishopric of Trieste and the bishopric of Koper to the Bishop of Freisin.
The castle in Osp, primarily served for weapon storage during peacetime, and during times of pillages served as depository for belongings that could be transported over a steep road. The Osp cave with its craggy source (the archaeological remains of the roman grave, oil-lamps, money, earthenware and glass crockery fragments) or the town, as it was called by the locals, was fortified with thick wall – spodmol, serving as a refuge. the villagers brought over along the steep road “the gold of the village”, oil and wine, what they used for trade, to the castle, the cave “one hundred steps wide and eighty steps long” (Francesco Boldù), where they sometimes took shelter squeezing together with cattle during conflict and plundering raids. the fortress was conquered by the Triestians, with help from mercenaries, in the first Venetian-Austrian war, and was given to the local population to govern. A small group of villagers from various neighbouring villages that were controlled by the Venetians before the war, conquered the fortress once again what the Koper Podestat himself marked with solemn ceremony. After the peace of Worms in 1521, Osp became the border castle close to Socerb. While the plague raged in the neighbourhood, two soldiers came to live in rastel, not far from the border, built adjacent to the church, during the plague blockade in Osp in 1713. there were four soldiers from the černid rank (black army) in the village that was in command of a hired officer because of its strategic position.
According to legend, the cave walls were not erected by the Venetians or the citizens of Koper, but by the Turks, however, there is no proof of that. It is possible that the Turks briefly occupied Osp on their way back from the plundering raids in Friuli and Slovenia. the legend probably found its origin in the Uskok war incidents, when the Uskoks (and their plundering) were mentioned as the Turks, sometimes even as the French.
Osp rock is regarded as one of the most important and most beautiful crags for free climbing in Europe, thus the area was turned into a national resort with a behaviour code.
(cited by: Jakovčič, J. et al: Istrski gradovi. Pula: Istarska županija)
As far as in Osp the tourism potential based on the site’s natural heritage has been well harnessed in a sustainable way, tourist offer of this little town could be considerably enrichened by including the castle into comprehensive presentation of the region. The platform for innovative connection and better use of attractive sites will be developed within the project MerlinCV.