Šibenik (HR)

The town of Šibenik was first mentioned in 1066 in a document of the Croatian King Petar Krešimir IV. It had developed on the coast below the rocky hill, which had been a fortified observation point since pre-Roman times, well positioned to control the sea access to the Bay of Šibenik and further along the Krka River to the hinterland.

From the 12th to the 14th century, Šibenik came under changing rule (Hungarian-Croatian kings, Venice, the Byzantine Empire). The loose central government enabled the development of an urban commercial elite and the establishment of a communal system not dissimilar to that prevalent in Italian cities of the same period. The citizens retained their autonomy and escaped the fate of being a feudal estate. In 1298, Šibenik also became an independent bishopric. After a three-year siege, Šibenik signed a „protection treaty“ in 1412 and joined the Republic of Venice. The Venetian rectors ruled and supervised the town for the next four centuries.

Šibenik's fortifications today comprise four fortresses and several ruins dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The oldest fortress, which towers over the old town, is St Michael's Fortress, named after the (former?) Church of St Michael. The archangel had been the patron saint of Šibenik since the Middle Ages, and this church was the oldest in the town until it was destroyed by the Austrian army at the beginning of the 19th century. From its beginnings as an Illyrian and early medieval outpost, the fortress developed into an irregular rectangle that took its final shape in the first decades of Venetian rule. One of the most interesting features is a rare example of the strada di soccorso, an escape route that connected the fortress to the coast. It was built by the Venetians in the 1420s. The city walls, which already existed in some form in earlier centuries, were completed and perfected by the Venetians in the mid to late 15th century.

The bay of Šibenik is connected to the open sea by a somewhat narrow (150-300 m), 3 km long St. Anthony's Channel. The medieval sea defences were based on two opposite fortresses on the eastern side of the channel, one of which is still clearly visible. In the mid-16th century, under pressure from the growing Ottoman naval power, the Serenissima had a series of coastal fortresses built. One of these - the fortress of St Nicholas - was built on a small island at the western entrance to the canal. Its unique layout and architectural details are one of the reasons why it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 along with other Venetian fortresses.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the border with the Ottomans was only a few kilometres inland. The medieval fortifications of Šibenik were not well adapted to the artillery warfare that developed during this period. With the outbreak of a new war in 1645, the town faced a major challenge. A large Ottoman army advanced into Dalmatia and threatened the towns there. The citizens of Šibenik took the initiative and began building a new fortress on the nearby St John's Hill above the old town. The Venetian officials helped, and in just 58 days the attackers had a new defence at their disposal. The siege in 1646 was repulsed, as was the one in the summer of 1647, although it was larger and better prepared. In the following 10 to 15 years, the fortress of St. John - the centre of the new defence - was rebuilt and enlarged. The Barone fortress, 250 metres to the south-east, guarded the eastern entrance to the town. Several fortified moats and redoubts were built around the suburbs. Two large bastions were added to the city walls.

With the decline of Ottoman power in the early 18th century, the fortresses lost their importance. The Venetian Republic was dissolved in 1797, and after the Napoleonic Wars, Dalmatia was incorporated into Austria. The Barone fortress was soon abandoned, but the Austrians kept the other three fortresses. Šibenik, together with Pula and Kotor, became an important town for the navy. The Austrians began building concrete fortresses and bunkers, which continued until the middle of the 20th century.

During the Croatian War of Independence, Šibenik was an important strategic point and was besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army. The Croatian armed forces stubbornly defended Šibenik. During the Battle of Šibenik from 16 to 22 September 1991, many historic buildings were damaged. The fortresses were then - we hope - used for the last time.

Architecture

The fortress of St Michael
was built as a lookout point over the Bay of Šibenik and the mouth of the River Krka and as a refuge for the surrounding population. The position has been used as a fortress since pre-Roman times, but nothing remains of these early walls. Archaeological finds from Roman, late antique and early medieval times have also been unearthed at the fortress. From the 11th century onwards, this place became the nucleus of the town of Šibenik. As a central point of defence, the fortress was often besieged and attacked, but also repaired and rebuilt.

St Michael's Fortress is a monument whose complex historical development is visible in its present state. The central part of the fortress is a castle, an inner courtyard surrounded by towers and connected by a high wall. The castle is surrounded on all sides by further fortifications. To the north-east of the castle, towards the fortress of St. John and along the entire south side towards the town centre, there are two faussebrayes. These frontal areas were built as an additional obstacle for the enemy to prevent an easy approach to and minelaying of the walls. They were well connected to the castle and other areas of the fortress, as rapid communication was necessary. In the 16th century at the latest, a large artillery platform (armoury) was built in the north-west. The platform was bordered by two towers, one of which has been preserved. Next to the second, demolished tower is a recently discovered fortified position that controlled the coastal suburb of Šibenik.

The double walls (strada di soccorso) connected the fortress to the coast. From a historical point of view, some other spaces were included in the fortress complex, such as the Madonna Tower (cavalier), a high platform built in 1639 to the south-east of the castle, or the defence wall to the fortress of St. John, built in 1657. In general, the castellan of the fortress directly managed almost one hectare of walled structures, variously levelled areas and interior facilities.

Barone Fortress
was built in 1646 on the 80 metre high Vidakuša hill above the town and financed by the citizens of Šibenik after several requests for help from the Republic of Venice were rejected. In the spring of 1646, the Ottomans began to gather their army in Bosnia and the Dalmatian hinterland. On 1 August 1646, under the leadership of Baron Christoph Martin von Degenfeld, the construction of the new Šibenik defence system began. The work was completed in just 58 days. Barone was originally a redoubt, a smaller fortress that guarded the entrance to the town. In 1659, the fortress was extended and expanded under Antonio Bernardo (Governor of Dalmatia). Half bastions with thick ramparts were added to the northern wall. A new main entrance was built, and in the southern part, facing the town, ancillary facilities were constructed.

St John Fortress
was built in 1646 on a 120 metre high hill north of the old town of Šibenik. It was also built in just 58 days as the main point of the town's new defence system, shortly before a major attack by the Ottoman army. The fortress was built by the people of Šibenik with their own hands and means according to the design of the Franciscan engineer Antonio Leni from Genoa. This first version of the fortress had the shape of a „star“. A tenaille was erected on the north side to control the terrain. Only a few days after its completion, the first attack took place and in the following summer another with tens of thousands of soldiers. This was followed by a month-long siege, during which the St John's Fortress in particular was severely damaged by Ottoman fire. Nevertheless, the defences held firm.
The fortress of St John is a complex fortress monument that was extended and adapted several times in the early decades. Antonio Leni's first work on the cramped and almost improvised fortress began almost immediately after the defended siege in 1646, and the fortress was then considerably extended to the north and west. After the second siege, the damaged fortress bastions were reconstructed with tufa and further extended. The outer fortifications to the north and west were also rebuilt several times between 1647 and 1664. The original tenaille and some secondary fortification elements were finally replaced by a series of three successive hornworks. Since then, the main contours of the fortress have not been altered. The fortress of St John was connected to other fortifications in the city by lines of defence.

From 2012, the fortresses of St Michael, St John and Barone were extensively renovated and transformed into modern adventure sites with a variety of leisure, adventure and educational functions. This was made possible by EU funding. The fortresses are now managed by the public organisation „Fortress of Cultura Šibenik“ whose sustainable approach to heritage conservation and event organisation is best practice in the development and management of fortified monuments in Europe.

It is important to mention that in addition to the three fortresses described above, there is a fourth fortress on the territory of the city of Šibenik, which is run by the public institution Nature of Šibenik-Knin County is managed: The fortress of St Nicholas.

It was built on the island of Ljuljevac and guards the entrance to the St Antoniu Channel from the Adriatic Sea into the Bay of Šibenik. Designed and built in the 16th century by the Venetian architect and master builder Giangirolamo Sanmicheli (nephew of Michele Sanmicheli), the Fortress of St. Nicholas is one of the most valuable and best preserved examples of defensive architecture in Dalmatia. Armed with 32 cannons, the brick building with stone foundations has served various armies over the centuries and has been renovated several times. Since 2017, the Fortress of St. Nicholas has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the defence system of the Republic of Venice between the 16th and 17th centuries.