Cannons at the medieval hillside Spanish Fortress in Hvar (Split-Dalmatia County), Croatia
Hvar's Venetian fort, Fortiza or Spanjola, is a highlight of any visit to Hvar town. Its striking position perched on top of a 100m high hill makes it hard to miss, which of course was the point. The climb up to the fort is gentle and pleasant and the views from the top are majestic. The multi-leveled fortification system has been well-restored, vividly evoking the days when Hvar was a lynchpin of the Venetian empire. Together with the town walls, Fortiza protected the towns for centuries and was so important to the development of Hvar that its image is on the town's coat-of-arms. The Venetians completed the fort in 1551 but the foundations were laid much earlier, probably to protect an earlier Illyrian settlement in the first millennium BC. This early fort later became the site of a Byzantine citadel probably around the 6th century AD. Traces of this earlier fortress can be found on the southern side of Fortiza. Construction of the current fortress began in 1282 shortly after the town turned to the Venetians for protection against the pirates rampaging through the Adriatic. Nevertheless it was the town that financed the construction from the proceeds of selling salt. At one point in the 14th century, Spanish engineers participated in the project which is how the fort acquired its nickname, Spanjola.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Ulica Higijenickog Drustva 19, 21450 Hvar, Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, Balkans, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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