KRK

U ve}ini pojedinosti, s gradskom jezgrom gotovo u
cjelini, grad Krk je spomenik povijesti i kulture. Danas
je jo{ djelomi~no opasan zidinama koje svjedo~e o
sukobu vladarskih ku}a i osvaja~kih carstava oko prevlasti
nad gradom i otokom Krkom. Gradski bedemi
uglavili su svoje temelje u muk vjekova jo{ prije nove
ere. Bedemi su prije~ili vojne nasrtaje i ~uvali grad jo{
u vrijeme rimske dominacije. Od doba Ilira pa sve do
propasti Venecije vi{e puta su dogra|ivani. Rimljani,
Mle~ani i Kr~ki knezovi razvijali su taj sna`ni ilirski
obrambeni sustav, grade}i sna`ne okrugle, ~etverostrane
i {esterostrane kule. S morske je strane u zidine
skladno ukomponiran frankopanski ka{tel s ~etiri
kule, koji ~uva grad jo{ od 12. stolje}a, a danas upotpunjuje
sliku grada odjecima pro{losti. Ima vi{e
nalaza iz svih povijesnih razdoblja. Ako ste pa`ljivo i
sa znati`eljom razgledali kr~ke zidine i kule zapazili
ste na okrugloj kuli reljef mleta~kog krilatog lava,
simbol svetoga Marka evan|elista, znak venecijanske
vlasti. Na poligonalnoj kuli, na rivi, odnosno na kuli
kneza Nikole IV ugra|en je ulomak antiknog spomenika,
vjerojatno iz prvog stolje}a na{e ere. Na istaknutom
mjestu, svima na pogledu, rimski nadgrobni reljef
supru`nika govori nam o prepredenom i postupnom
stvaranju mo}i kr~kih knezova Frankopana. Naime,
1407. godine knez Nikola dovr{avao je popravke i
dogradnje na kr~kim zidinama i kulama i to je bila
prilika da za vje~nu uspomenu na to veliko, sretno
dovr{eno djelo na svojoj {esterostranoj utvrdi u luci
ugradi spomen-obilje`je. Knez Nikola IV. `ivio je u
vrijeme humanizma i renesanse kada je bilo u modi da
mo}ni plemi}ki rodovi imaju slavno i daleko porijeklo,
a on i njegovi preci bili su samo “comites Veglae”, kr~ki
knezovi. Idealno bi bilo da su potomci starih ~asnih
Rimljana. Ambiciozni Nikola IV. koji je vladao od
108
Kr~ka stela kneza Nikole iz 1407. godine
The Krk stele of Duke Nikola from the year 1407
They thwarted military attacks and protected the
town during Roman domination. New sections were
added on several occasions from the Illyrian times to
the fall of Venice. The Romans, the Venetians and the
dukes of Krk had developed this solid Illyrian defense
system, erecting solid, round tetragonal and hexagonal
towers. On the side facing the sea, into the walls
is harmoniously inserted the Frankopan castle with
four towers which has been protecting the town since
the 12 th century while today it complements the town
landscape with the echoes of the past. There are several
finds from all historical periods. Had you with care
and curiosity inspected the Krk walls and towers, on
the round tower you might have noticed the relief of
the Venetian winged lion, the symbol of St. Mark the
Evangelist and the sign of the Venetian authority. A
fragment of an ancient monument, probably dating
from the 1 st century C.E., was incased in the polygonal
tower of Nikola IV on the waterfront. On this visible
spot where it can easily be seen by all, the Roman
tombstone relief of spouses tells us of the cunning and
gradual coming to power of the Frankopan dukes of
Krk. In 1407, namely, duke Nikola was completing
the repairs and the additions on the Krk bulwarks and
towers which provided him with an opportunity in the
eternal memory of this great deed to build a memorial
into his hexagonal fort in the port. Duke Nikola IV
lived at the time of Humanism and the Renaissance
when it was fashionable for powerful noble families to
boast a glorious and long origin. While his predecessors
were mere “comites Veglae,” dukes of Krk, it
would have been ideal had they been the descendants
of the ancient, honorable Romans. Ambitious Nikola
IV, who ruled from 1393 to 1432, was a skillful,
enterprising and wise man, who, in accordance with
the genealogical fashion of the time wished for his
nobility to boast Roman origin in order to be able to
exert increasing influence on the European politics as
well. The shrewd Duke, therefore, chose a stele which
was part of an old Roman tombstone featuring the
carved figures of a man and a woman, allegedly
images of his honorable predecessors, above which he
had carved a six-point star, the coat-of-arms of the
dukes of Krk, and the Latin inscription – YEAR OF
OUR LORD 1407, THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEM-
BER AT THE TIME OF LORD DUKE NIKOLA. With the
insertion of the old Roman tombstone, Nikola wanted
to award credibility to the invented story of his
ancient Roman roots and suggest that the local dukes
of Krk descended from the ancient, glorious lineage of
the Roman Frangepanis whose origin went back to the
early Roman family of Anicius. This antique monument
is today called the Stele of Krk. Out of the historical
darkness it illuminates the sources of ideas and
accomplishments of an ancient well-though out scenario
which enabled Duke Nikola IV with much
patience and skill after more than two decades to be
crowned with the noble title and the new coat-of-arms
of the Roman Frankopans. To win the title of the
ancient and glorious Roman noblemen, the duke made
use of all his connections throughout Europe and loosened
his purse strings. God knows how much it cost