St. Nikola Fortress Opening Ceremony
Šibenik, 15th June – St Nicholas’ Fortress in Šibenik was opened in the presence of several hundred guests and public figures attending the opening ceremony. In 2017 the fortress was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the common name of the Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar.
“We are happy that the fortress, which is of great importance for all of us, will open its doors today to visitors from all over the world. After having invested millions of kuna in absolutely essential restoration works, we recognized the necessity for a concept of organized visits to the fortress. We are required to implement this concept in order to provide safety to visitors, to protect our monuments of culture as well as to enable quality of experience. After all, we owe that to UNESCO. Therefore, this year it will be possible to visit the fortress only if you get a boat leaving from the Šibenik waterfront.
At the moment this is the only system that can guarantee the safety of visitors and preservation of the UNESCO monument.
So, here we are today, at the opening of the fortress that will welcome its first guests tomorrow”, said Anita Babačić Ajduk, while expressing her gratitude to all those who have been wholeheartedly engaged in this project since its beginnings and who have contributed selflessly to it.
Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture of Republic of Croatia
Cappelluzzo Giovanni, Responsible of International Secretariat “The Venetian Works of Defence between 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar”
Anita Babačić Ajduk, Director of Public Institution of Nature of Sibenik-Knin County
Željko Burić, Major of Sebenico
Goran Pauk, Prefect County Sibenik – Knin
Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek and professor Miljenko Domijan, general conservator at the Ministry of Culture of Croatia
Photo: Dusko Jaramaz/PIXSELL
The unusual island fortress of St Nikola in Sibenik is part of the Venetian Defensive System that Unesco has recently inscribed on its list of World Heritage Sites. Like Zadar’s Walls, the Republic of Venice built St Nikola’s fortress in the h century to protect the town from attacks by Ottoman Turks. With its unique triangular shape and sturdy construction, it became the strongest fort on the Croatian coast.