Dubrovnik from above

We had the most beautiful day today. The sun was shining and we climbed 218 stairs to the top of the Fortress of St Lawrence (Lovrijenac) – also known as ˝Gibraltar of Dubrovnik˝ . It was quite a challenge, but so worthwhile.

The story goes that in the 11th century Venetians planned to build a fortress on this same spot in order to control Dubrovnik. The people of Dubrovnik heard of their intention and immediately decided to build a fortress 37 m high on the cliff in order to protect Dubrovnik from Venetians. They allegedly built it in only three months and when the Venetians came with ships full of building material they had to return home with the task unfinished.

Throughout the centuries the fortress was adapted numerous times, the majority of the alterations were done in the 15th and 16th century. It was damaged in the catastrophic earthquake in 1667 and fully restored by the end of the 17th century.

The views from the top were magnificent.

In the afternoon we tackled part of the city walls. I would have liked to do the entire thing, but we had climbed just too many steps!! I did this more than 40 years ago and wanted to retrace my steps. The wall has been fabulously maintained and the little watchtowers appear to be in better shape than they were back then!

The city walls of Dubrovnik were constructed mainly during the 13th–17th centuries and run an uninterrupted course of approximately 1.94 km, encircling most of the old city. The sea facing walls are from 1.5 to 5 meters thick and their purpose was to defend the city from attacks – especially from the Venetians who were often considered a threat to Dubrovnik’s sovereignty.