The Kluže Fortress is a

fort 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 La ...

near the town of

Bovec Bovec (; , , ) is a town in the Slovene Littoral, 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 Ljubljana, at an e ...

in northwestern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The original fortress was built in 1472 near Bovec on the road between

Cave del Predil Cave del Predil (, ) 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 mi) south of the Tarvis ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

. Its likely original purpose was defence of

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

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 (, locally ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity of Udine, part of the Northern Italy, North-Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The town lies above sea-level in th ...

and

Aquileia Aquileia 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 Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

. At the end of the 18th century, it was entirely under Austria's administration, and remained so until

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. 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 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when the Italian-Austrian front (

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

) 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