Market positioning of a highly important cultural heritage object based on the example of a castle

Dvorac Opeka u Varaždinskoj županiji predivan je primjer kasnorenesansnog stila gradnje. Tijekom svoje povijesti bio je u vlasništvu nekih od najistaknutijih hrvatskih plemićkih obitelji poput Keglevića i Draškovića. U danima kad je dvorac bio na vrhuncu svoje slave ondje se okupljala elita, najviše u doba grofa Marka Bombellesa, koji je kao predsjednik Hrvatskog kluba automobilista često organizirao njihova druženja, a nakon Drugog svjetskog rata dvorac je služio i kao lovačka rezidencija Josipa Broza Tita. Danas je dvorac u poluruševnom stanju i prepušten propadanju. Autorica je u ovom radu opisala i razradila idejni projekt za obnovu i prenamjenu dvorca, te njegovo tržišno pozicioniranje kao ekskluzivnog hotela heritage kategorije. U prvom poglavlju razrađeno je značenje kulturne baštine, te podjela i kategorizacija objekata kulturne baštine u Hrvatskoj. U drugom poglavlju napravljen je osvrt na hrvatske dvorce, s naglaskom na primjere dobre prakse u Hrvatskom zagorju, gdje su neki dvorci obnovljeni i koriste se za promoviranje turizma. Treće poglavlje opisuje povijest samog dvorca Bombelles, koji je središnja tema ovog završnog rada. U daljnjim poglavljima, autorica je razradila marketinšku strategiju za heritage hotel i restoran koji bi se nalazio u dvorcu nakon obnove, te je detaljno opisan marketing splet te segmentacija tržišta. U završnom dijelu zaključuje se kako kulturni turizam u Hrvatskom zagorju nije dovoljno razvijen unatoč velikom potencijalu koji ta regija ima, s obzirom na to da se ondje nalazi velik broj dvoraca i kurija. Obnova i prenamjena dvorca Opeka mogla bi biti prvi korak u tom smjeru.Opeka Castle in Varaždin County is a quintessential example of late Renaissance style building, which has throughout its history been owned by some of the most prominent Croatian nobility like the Keglević and Drašković families. In its glory days the Croatian elite gathered there, mostly in the time of Count Marko Bombelles, who was the president of the Croatian motorist club and often organized their meetings. After the Second World War the castle was used as a hunting residence of Josip Broz Tito. Today the castle is in poor condition and is left to decay. The author of this paper described and elaborated a project for the reconstruction and redevelopment of the castle into an exclusive hotel of the heritage category. In the first chapter the author elaborated the significance of cultural heritage, as well as classification and categorization of objects of cultural heritage in Croatia. In the second chapter a reference is made to the Croatian castles, focusing on examples of good practice in the Croatian Zagorje, where some castles are renovated and used for the purpose of promoting tourism. The third chapter describes the history of the castle Bombelles, which is the central theme of this bachelor thesis. In subsequent chapters, the author has developed a marketing strategy for a heritage hotel and restaurant that would be located in the castle after the restoration, and described in detail the marketing mix and market segmentation. In the final part, it is concluded that, despite the large number of castles presenting significant potential for the development of cultural tourism, Croatian Zagorje has not developed enough in this direction. The reconstruction and conversion of castle Opeka could be the first step