Venetian Fortress, Zadar, Croatia

Forte Fortress is situated east of the monumental Land gate, built in 1567 by the Venetian military commander Sforza Pallavicino. The fortress was separated from the city and from land by defensive moats. Today the Vladimir Nazor Park is situated there. Following the shoreline next to the Forte fortress one reaches the area of Kolovare, where a convex well with head was built in 1546 next to the sea and was used to supply Venetian ships with fresh water.

References:

Zadar Travel

Castles and fortifications in Croatia

User Reviews

Bharathi Mani (5 months ago)
The land gate is the most ornate and prettiest of the gates in Zadar. The Venetian winged lion on the gate is really impressive. It's next to a small arena. For really good pictures/views of the gate enter the city through the gates, take a left and you'll see a park. Climb the steps to get really good views.

1girl 1passport (5 months ago)
The most elaborate of the city gates also has the prettiest setting, facing a sheltered little marina. Dating from 1543, it has Renaissance-style decorations including St Chrysogonus (Zadar's patron saint) on horseback and the Venetian winged lion. The gate is still used by traffic and was clearly meant to impress those entering – the reverse side is decidedly plain. To get a really good view go up the stairs on the side and walk up into the park. Great place to take photos.

zdenko ivanov (10 months ago)
Super site,to make some nice n unique pictures

TheDailyPackers - Travel Couple (11 months ago)
One of the 2 gates that allowed entrance to the city, the other one is the sea gate. Nice to see from the park.

David Smith (13 months ago)
The Land City Gate which dates from 1543 is in a pleasant position next to a harbour. Logically is also next to the City Walls, and leads into the Old Town.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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