The great Karlovac historian Radoslav Lopašić, in the now cult book of all researchers of Karlovac and its surroundings, "Around the Kupa and Korana", mentioned in the chapter dedicated to Blagaj fortress on the Korana, today in the area of the City of Slunj, the church of St. John, located “one hour (walk) away towards Veljun na Korana” when the Majetić and Beronić families snatched it from oblivion by placing a Glagolitic plaque.
U Friday, January 5, 2024. in a slightly smaller group, just Goran Majetić and I, we managed to find the remains of the “holy well” or spa where, as Lopašić writes, there was a “warm bath and excellent sour soup”, and he continues that “the princes of Blagaj used to shoot at the spring, drinking wine with sour soup”. In a loose translation, the princes of Blagaj entertained themselves by shooting from arquebuses and toasting with gemišti.
Thanks to Mr. Ivica Stanišić who pointed us in the right direction, we found the remains of the spa building and the now unfortunately dry spring mentioned by Lopašić. The spring is located between the location of the spa and the hill – in the east, about thirty steps away. Judging by the appearance of the ground, it is obvious that the spring is occasionally active, that is, it “throws” water, probably during heavy rains, but during our visit it was completely dry.
The building itself was built with very wide inner and outer walls of as much as 120 cm, which leads to the conclusion that it was all under one roof, but also that it was built a long time ago – the wider the walls, the older the construction. Our assumption is that this building is from the end of the XNUMXth century, just like the Blagaj Castle and the Church of St. John.
The width of the building (north-south) is about 13-14 meters, and the length (east-west) is about 30 meters. On the north side there is a staircase that led to the first level, which may have been wooden because there are no remains of thicker walls, but there are foundations. On the other side of this lower level, we assume that there was a corridor that led to the upper level, where three smaller and one large room are clearly visible, which may even have been open, but given the thickness of the walls, I am more inclined to believe that it was under a roof with perhaps wooden pillars to reinforce the roof structure.
On the north side, one wall is rounded, so I assume that this is where the well mentioned by Lopašić was located, and it could be approached from the outside without entering the building itself.
Considering the remains of the walls and the height of the humus, we think that already in the first wave of archaeological excavations, we would have visible walls about two meters high, and perhaps a tiled floor. Of course, as independent researchers, we are not allowed to do this, so we sincerely hope that City of Slunj and the Tourist Board Slunj Rastoke in whose area this location is, the necessary steps should be taken to thoroughly research, organize and include this medieval health resort in the cultural and tourist offer.
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Order books FRANGERE PANE: Stories about Frankopans i Stella Aurea by Tomislav Beronić. The books are available at links
