St. Michael fortress in Sibenik

The fortress of St. Michael in Sibenik was built on a 60m high limestone hill situated at the mouth of the river Krka. This is the place where the life of Sibenik began. The town of Sibenik was mentioned for the first time in 1066, in the documents signed by the Croatian King Petar Kresimir IV. The building of the present-day fortress lasted from the 13th to the 18th century but its biggest part belongs to the 15th and 16th century. Its ground plan has the shape of an irregular quadrangle. In the eastern part of the fortress there are two well preserved square mural towers and there are two polygonal towers in its northern part. The Gothic style main entrance is situated on the eastern side. During the archeological excavations inside the fortress territory, numerous objects, dating from the prehistoric period to the Middle Ages, were uncovered. According to the historical sources from the 12th century, inside the fortress walls there was the church of St. Michael.
Along the course of its history, the fortress was damaged and rebuild several times. It was demolished twice, in 1663 and in 1752 by the explosion of the powder-magazines situated within its walls. There is a double defensive wall descending from the fortress to the coast and ending with the big Gothic gate. It was built at the beginning of the 15th century and, in danger, the soldiers used it to retreat towards the sea.