The view
The city, the channel and the archipelago in one sweep from the walls.
Carsten Steger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zvone00 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zvone00 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The oldest and highest of Šibenik''s four fortresses, standing on a rock directly above the old town, with the city, the channel and the archipelago all visible from it at once. The site has been fortified since the eleventh century, and Šibenik itself grew around it — the city''s first mention, in a document of **1066**, describes it as the settlement beneath this stronghold. That is what makes Šibenik unlike its neighbours: it was **founded by Croats themselves** rather than by Romans or Greeks, the only Dalmatian city of which that is true. The present walls are Venetian, and were damaged repeatedly — worst by a gunpowder magazine explosion in 1663. After a full restoration completed in 2014 the fortress became an **open-air theatre** seating over a thousand, with a full summer concert programme. Seating and a glass platform were added without touching the original stone, and it is cited as a model of re-using an archaeological site. Note: the climb from the old town is **steep and winding through stepped lanes** — about twenty minutes on foot.
The city, the channel and the archipelago in one sweep from the walls.
Modern seating inside the original stone, untouched.
Narrow stepped lanes through the old town, half the pleasure.
Zagrađe 21, Šibenik
Four, each with a different purpose. **St Michael''s** is the oldest, the closest to the old town and has the best view — if you visit one, make it this. **Barone** was built in 1646 in two months to break an Ottoman siege; it is smaller, with an augmented-reality display explaining the siege and a view inland, and the combined ticket with it is better value. **St John''s** is the highest and least restored and needs a longer climb. **St Nicholas'' Fortress** is different again: it stands **in the sea** at the mouth of the channel, built on a small island and reachable only by boat, and is UNESCO-listed among the Venetian defence works. ⚠ The three landward ones all need a steep climb; there are no lifts and no roads up.
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