St. Nicholas Fortress () is a fortress located at the entrance to St. Anthony Channel, near the town of

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

in central

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It was included in

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

list as part of " Venetian Works of Defence between 16th and 17th centuries: ''Stato da Terra'' – western ''Stato da mar''" in 2017. After reconstruction work that lasted for two years, the fortress was open to visitors in July 2019.

History

The town of Šibenik has a fortification system consisting of four fortresses: * St. Nicholas Fortress (') * St. Michael's Fortress (') * St. John's Fortress (') * Barone Fortress ('')'' Only St. Nicholas Fortress is at sea, at the entrance to the Šibenik port, and the remaining three are on land. St. Nicholas Fortress was built on the left side at the entrance to St. Anthony Channel, on the island called ''Ljuljevac''. The island is situated at the entrance to the Šibenik channel across the

Jadrija Jadrija is a city district in Šibenik, Croatia. It is a popular seaside resort located on a man-made peninsula at the entrance of the St. Anthony Channel leading to Šibenik. Jadrija was logged into the registry of protected Croatian cultural her ...

beach lighthouse. St. Nicholas Fortress got its name from the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Monastery of St. Nicholas, which was originally on the island, but due to the construction of the fortress, it had to be demolished. At the request of domestic

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

population of Šibenik, the Venetian captain Alvise Canal decided to build a fort on the island of Ljuljevac on 30 April 1525. The fortress was designed and built by the famous Venetian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and builder Giangirolamo Sanmicheli (nephew of

Michele Sanmicheli Michele Sanmicheli, sometimes also transcribed as Sammicheli, Sanmichele or Sammichele (Verona, 1484There is no certainty about the date of his birth. Vasari reports 1484, while architectural historian Giulio Sancassani, through a study of his fat ...

). It was built by in the 16th century to prevent Turkish boats from reaching the port. St. Nicholas Fortress was armed with 32

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

Architecture

The fortress is one of the most valuable and best preserved examples of defense

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

in Dalmatia. It is made of brick because that material was considered to be most resistant to cannonballs, while the foundations are made of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. Although defense capabilities of the fortress have never been tested in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

operations, the structure still proved successful in protecting the city from sea-bound enemy attacks. During the centuries of use, the structure served to various armies and has undergone a number of renovations, some of them necessary only because of the development of arms. It was completely abandoned by the military in 1979 and has been undergoing renovation ever since.

Notes

In the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, there are two similar forts: one on the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and the other is in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, named ''Forte di Sant'Andrea''.

Image gallery

File:DSC 0539.JPG tvrđava sv.Nikole.jpg File:St Nicholas Fortress.jpg, alt=St Nicholas Fortress, St Nicholas Fortress File:View of St. Nicholas Fortress from Jadrija.jpg, alt=View of St. Nicholas Fortress from Jadrija, View of St. Nicholas Fortress from

File:St. Nicholas Fortress.jpg, alt=St Nicholas Fortess, File:Vincenzo Coronelli, S. Nicolò di Sebenico.jpg File:St. Nicholas Fortress gun posts.jpg, alt=Gun posts, Gun posts

References

External links

St. Anthony's channel official websiteExplore St Nicholas’ Fortress in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Nicholas Fortress Buildings and structures completed in 1547 Castles in Croatia Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik 1547 establishments in Europe

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

Fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Forts in Croatia