Starigrad Fortress is a 15th-century fortress located near

Omiš Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is wh ...

Split-Dalmatia county Split-Dalmatia County ( hr, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija ) is a central-southern Dalmatian county in Croatia. The administrative center is Split. The population of the county is 455,242 (2011). The land area is 14.106,40 km2. Split-Dalmat ...

, in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

The fortress or ''Fortica'' was built during the

Croatian–Ottoman wars Croatian–Ottoman Wars ( tr, Osmanlı-Hırvatistan Savaşları, link=no, hr, Hrvatsko-osmanski ratovi, link=no) can refer to one of the several conflicts between the Kingdom of Croatia (as part of Kingdom of Hungary-Croatia and Habsburg Mona ...

as a primary defence against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The precipitous fortification is sited on a ridge above the town Omiš. In the event of attack, its purpose was to provide refuge for local people and be a stronghold where they could retreat to and resist the Turks. As the stone fort's defensive strength is derived from the elevation at which it was built, it is a rudimentary defensive structure. A two-storey

square tower The Square Tower is one of the oldest parts of the fortifications of Portsmouth, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History A tower was built in 1494 as part of the fortifications and served as a home to the Governor of Portsmouth. I ...

stands at its highest point, serving as both a lookout post and

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

. A simple

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

stands at the opposite end of the fort to cover the approach path and the ridge line. It has an outer

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

to defend the fort's narrow entrance gateway and the gorge below the fort. The walls, which are about thick, are made from locally quarried

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. They enclose an

inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

that is separated into two distinct levels by the difference in the site's natural rock height. Access between the levels is via a small stone stairway that was once protected by a stone wall and gateway. In event of attack, the fortification's design permits the defenders to fall back to higher ground as each level falls.

References

Buildings and structures in Split-Dalmatia County Forts in Croatia Omiš {{Croatia-castle-stub

See also

References