Kringa

Istrien · Kroatien · Haunted site

In the village of Kringa, Europe's first vampire known by name was beheaded in 1672 – sixteen years after his own funeral.

The peasant Jure Grando died in Kringa in 1656, but according to the villagers he immediately began to walk again as a štrigon. At night he knocked on doors around the village, and in whichever house he knocked, someone soon died; he visited his widow in her bedchamber. After sixteen years of terror the villagers opened the grave in 1672 and found the body untouched, a smile on its lips. When a hawthorn stake failed to pierce the corpse, one of the men sawed off its head – only then did the village find peace. The story was recorded in 1689 by Johann Weikhard Valvasor and counts as Europe's first documented vampire case with a full name.

FAQ

Where is Kringa located?

Kringa is in Istrien, Kroatien.