St Nicholas Fortress

This is the second of Šibenik's UNESCO-listed monuments, registered in 2017 as part of the Venetian defensive works on the Adriatic. The triangular sea fortress sits on its own little island three kilometres from the old town, at the mouth of the channel between the harbour and the open sea.

You cannot drive there: visits are by boat, either on a scheduled tour from the Šibenik waterfront or as part of a Kornati trip. Interior visits include a walk through the casemates and powder magazines, and you usually combine the trip with a stop for swimming at one of the nearby coves. Book through one of the kiosks on the Riva.

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A story
Built on a tiny islet in the narrow St Anthony Channel, St Nicholas was designed so that any ship entering Šibenik harbour had to pass directly under its guns. In four centuries no hostile fleet ever made it through. Venice required Šibenik to fund the whole thing — a tax burden so heavy the locals rioted in 1543.

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