Spanish Fortress, Hvar, Croatia - SpottingHistory.com

The Spanish Fortress (Španjola) was built at the beginning of the 16th century (during the Venetian rule) and was reconstructed in 1579. Today the fort holds a collection of amphora and other exhibits from antiquity and the Middle Ages. Besides experiencing its exquisite architecture, you will experience an unforgettable panoramic view of the city of Hvar, its surroundings and the Pakleni islands.

References:

Visit Hvar

Castles and fortifications in Croatia

User Reviews

Rajko Keravica (2 years ago)
Would recommend. Its not big, but surely it is interesting. There is also underneath it a path that you can walk and see various species of plants. Although this road leads to the walls and the doors, these are locked, so be careful not to make a wrong turn, there are sings drawn on pavement. Up in the fortress there is a cafe and a small prison wich was really cool to see. Grab your self a combo ticket for a theatre wich is located in the city, which really pays off.

Tito Lins e Silva (2 years ago)
Small tour but totally worth it. Amazing view from the city and the pakleni islands and great story behind the fortress itself and the shipwrecks nearby.

Pedro Valle (2 years ago)
To be very honest, the fortress itself is lacking of luster, but the views are to die for.

Igor Filko (2 years ago)
Genuine fortress with high walls, lookouts, cannons and dungeon. Real old but taken care of and provides a great view of the city. Hot as hell since there is no shade except in the dungeons which are fairly cool in contrast. Remarkable how small the cells in dungeons are. You would want to avoid getting jailed in those times. Small museum on site. Displayed several items from the sea floor which went down with some galleons and merchant ships hundreds of years ago. Something to visit.

Elliot Wasow (2 years ago)
Cool fortress with nice views over Grad Hvar. The prison cells were really haunting.

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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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