The Old Town of Čakovec is the most valuable cultural and historical monument and the central memorial point in Međimurje of today. Its walls, towers, palace are the core of the contemporary Čakovec. Čakovec was first mentioned in a document as a fortified town in King Robert of Angevin's Charter in 1333. Because of the threat imposed by the Turks, Nikola IV. Zrinski began the construction of a strong Renaissance fortress in accordance with Italian fortification builders' designs. It was about the year 1550, whereas the construction was completed a hundred years later by Nikola's grand grandson Nikola VII. Zrinski. The construction of the luxurious Renaissance styled palace situated within the fortification walls was completed in 1638. After the disastrous earthquake of 1738, Anton Erhard Martinelli, the Royal architect, successfully reconstructed and renewed the whole complex in the Baroque manner typical of the states belonging to Austria.