The Kluže Fortress is a
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
near the town of
Bovec
Bovec ( or ; , german: Flitsch, fur, Plèz) is a town in the Littoral region in northwestern Slovenia, close to the border with Italy. It is the central settlement of the Municipality of Bovec.
Geography
Bovec is located from the capital Ljublj ...
in northwestern
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
.
The original fortress was built in 1472 near Bovec on the road between
Cave del Predil
Cave del Predil (german: Raibl, sl, Rabelj) is a ''frazione'' subdivision of the ''comune'' of Tarvisio in the Province of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy.
Geography
The hamlet is located about 15 km (9&nbs ...
and
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
. Its likely original purpose was defence of
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
against the Turks. In the course of the 16th century Bovec came under Austrian authority as a result of the wars between Venice and the Habsburgs. However, for the time being it remained as an ecclesiastical dependence of
Cividale
Cividale del Friuli ( fur, Cividât (locally ); german: Östrich; sl, Čedad) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Udine, part of the Northern Italy, North-Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia ''regione''. The town lies above sea-level in the foo ...
and
Aquileia
Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
. At the end of the 18th century it was entirely under Austria's administration, and remained so until
1918.
In 1796 and 1797 fighting took place around the fort, as
Napoleon's army pushed through the
Koritnica gorge. Napoleon's forces took the fort in 1797 by placing artillery at a higher elevation (where
Fort Hermann
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
now stands). The fortress was then destroyed. The current fort was built upon the site by the Austrians in the late 19th century. Fort Hermann, covering the higher elevation, was built at the same time. The two are linked by a trail and a tunnel. Fort Hermann was heavily damaged and rendered unusable by Italian artillery bombardment in 1915.
In 1903 part of Bovec was destroyed by a fire. What remained standing was ravaged in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when the Italian-Austrian front (
Battles of the Isonzo
The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...
) crossed through the valley as the battle cut from north to south.
References
*"The Kluže Fort." Fortress Kluže. Bovec, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015. accessed via https://web.archive.org/web/20150503205330/http://www.bovec.si/cultural_heritage/fortress_kluze/
External links
Kluže Fortress*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kluze
Forts in Slovenia
Buildings and structures completed in 1882
Bovec