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Fortress of St. Michael in Šibenik (since the 1990s), also known as Fortress of St. Anne (from the 17th century to the end of the 20th century, widespread among the people of Šibenik) rises at the top of the old city agglomeration, on a rocky hill 70 m above sea level and throughout its turbulent history it has often changed its name. This fortress is a kind of epicenter of Šibenik, a place where the oldest evidence of the existence of civilization in the Šibenik area was found. Today's Šibenik began its life first as a tribal Croatian fortress - castrum - after the Croats in great migration descended to the Adriatic shores and built at the mouth of the river Krka in the middle of a spacious natural harbor on a steep high cliff castle, below which on the slopes to the sea builds a town, today the areas of Gorica and Dolac. According to the chronology of Šibenik by I. Livaković, Castrum Sancti Michelis was first mentioned in 998, and according to J. Ćuzela in 1105. It was built to control and defend the entrance to the Šibenik Bay and the Krka River Canyon, which could be used to sail to the then most important town of Skradin, which has existed since ancient times. Throughout history, it has been the dominant point of the Šibenik fortification system. Over time, the fortress was extended and modernized, demolished and rebuilt, and in the Middle Ages it received its final form. Today, the fortress is viewed as a complex of functionally connected parts: Kaštela sv. Mihovil (citadel), antechamber along the south and east sides of the castle, barbican (sub-wall) on the west and north sides and "double ramparts". From 2012 to 2014, infrastructural works were carried out on the fortress area of 2600 m2, which included arranging a summer stage with an open-air auditorium and arranging the underground part where the museum collection is located and several auxiliary rooms with various facilities.
The name of the fortress
According to historical sources from
1359, we learn that the oldest church in Šibenik was located in the
area of the castle, so it is stated: "in castro Sibinicensi in
ecclesia sancti Michaelis". She wore the title of St. Mihovil, so
according to her, the fortress in the XIV. century called Castrum
Sancti Michelis. The last Croatian-Hungarian commander, Petar Mišlin
(1387-1437), undertook significant works on the castle, and the fact
that the fortress was named after him in your time speaks volumes
about the size of the works. Castrum Petrum de Mislgien (Peter
Mišlin Fortress) is mentioned when concluding the surrender
contract. At the beginning of the XV. century the church is called
Marie e sti Michaelis de castro, and in the second half of the XV.
century you are Marie fortilicie Sibenicensis, because in the church
there was a "miraculous" image of Our Lady of Health or of the
castle they worshiped. The arrival of the Venetian garrison in 1416
made undisturbed worship difficult, and it is recorded that the
painting from 1450 is in the Cathedral of St. Jacob which was then
being built. Throughout the 16th century, the church was called
"Chapel of the Glorious Mother of God from the Hill" and "Chapel of
Our Lady of Kaštela". At the end of the 16th century, the castle
under the name of St. Mihovila. When lightning struck the gunpowder
in the fortress in 1663, the church in it and the "miraculous" image
of Our Lady of Kaštela were destroyed. During its repair, a statue
of St. Ana, and since then both the church and the fortress began to
be called St. Anom. The church was built in the pre-fortress area
along the east side of the castle because the permanent military
crews prevented access inside the castle itself. The Austrian
administration made the decision to demolish the church in the
castle in 1802. But even after that year, we find it on the floor
plans of the fortifications. It is believed that the remains of the
church of St. Mihovil inside the castle was demolished by Austrian
soldiers after 1818. In that year, Emperor Francis I visited Šibenik
and described it in detail in his diary, stating: "The city is
surrounded by high walls that include the castle of St. Anne."
In the depictions of Šibenik from the 16th and 17th centuries.
only Il Castello stands next to the castle. In the ground plan of
the fortifications of V. Coronelli made around 1667, when the
construction of Tanaj and Barone were already underway, the castle
is called Castello Vecchio (Italian: Stari kaštel) as well as in the
ground plan of G. Juster from 1708 All "situational" plans from the
time of Austro-Hungary bear the name Castel St. Anna. Name Tvrđava
sv. Ana stands on all plans of the city throughout the twentieth
century. Mihovil from the 16th century, although for centuries there
has been no sacral object of this saint on it, and in order to
revive the worship of the city patron, after whom no object in
Šibenik was named at that time, sacral or historical. After the
fortress was arranged for sightseeing at the beginning of the
millennium, the tourist board set up brown pedestrian signposts with
the inscription "Kaštel sv. Mihovil. Mr. sc. Josip Ćuzela", who has a
master's degree in medieval fortification architecture from Šibenik,
in his book "Šibenik fortification system" separates the concepts of
the Fortress of St. Mihovil and Kaštela All Mihovil so that within
the section "Fortress of St. Michael" there is a subsection "Castle
of St. Michael" as one of the parts of the unique system of the
Fortress. Dr. sc. Andrej Žmegač, who teaches the elective course
Croatian Fortification Architecture at the undergraduate study of
art history in Split, in his book "Bastions of Adriatic Croatia"
uses only the name Kaštel sv. Mihovil, and not the fort as he calls
St. John and St. Nicholas. However, since the revitalization of the
castle as a summer stage began in 2011, only the name St. Michael's
Fortress appears in all official documents of the project and on the
official website. But many people from Šibenik because of the church
of St. Ana and the eponymous cemetery located within the
fortification is traditionally called the fortress of St. Anne as it
has been called since the XVII. The fortress of St. Ana can also be
found on the city map on the official website of the city of Šibenik
and the online edition of the Croatian Encyclopedia also uses the
name "today's fortress of St. Anne"
History
Remains of
material culture, pottery from the Iron Age of prehistory have been
found in the northeastern part, so it is certain that the Croats
built the fortress on the site where there was once a hillfort of
the ancient Illyrians. The citadel has experienced complete or
partial demolition one or more times. On the preserved walls of the
castle, one can read the stratification in the construction of
certain parts of the fortress. It was determined that it was always
rebuilt within the same floor plan dimensions. The oldest parts of
the walls are from the XIII. century, and next to them we find those
built in the XIV. century, and a considerable part of the walls of
the XV. and XVI century Restorations undertaken after two
demolitions by gunpowder explosions in the XVII. and XVIII. century
are also legible on the wall.
The earliest recorded demolition of the castle was carried out by
the Venetian doge Ordelafo Faledro in 1116. We know nothing about
the appearance of the castle at that time. It was demolished again
in the XIII. century, by the citizens themselves with the intention
not to be inhabited by the Templars who came to Šibenik between 1221
and 1227, so the demolition can be dated to that period. They
probably only demolished the buildings inside the castle so that the
Templars would not inhabit them. In 1378, Šibenik was attacked by
the Venetian Admiral Vettore Pisani with a fleet of 36 galleys, who,
thanks to weak walls on the sea side, managed to reach the town, but
not the castle, from which he was twice repulsed. The furious
Venetians, unable to occupy the castle, plundered and set fire to
the city. In XIII. and XIV. the square towers and part of the
curtain on the east side are certainly dated to the 16th century. At
the end of the XIV. and early XV. century, by order of the
Croatian-Hungarian King Sigismund, and according to the project of
Peter Mišlin, the citadel was added to the western sub-wall
(barbican) located next to the castle of double ramparts. On this
occasion, a small door was opened on the northwestern part of the
curtain. They provided access to the promenade of the sub-wall. In
1409, when Dalmatia was sold to the Venetians, Šibenik did not
peacefully agree to Venetian rule. The people of Šibenik began
preparations for the defense of the city, restoring and
strengthening the city walls and towers with stone intended for the
construction of the cathedral. After a 38-month long siege, the
Venetians managed to enter the city in 1412. According to point 6 of
the surrender agreement, the people of Šibenik demanded that the
Fortress of Petar Mišlin, as the castle was then called, be
completely destroyed and that the Venetians not build any
fortifications in the city and its district in order to limit
Venetian rule to political rather than military. The Venetians began
demolishing the citadel, probably the southern and eastern walls
between the towers so as not to open a hole in the fortification
system of the city. However, with skilful diplomacy, they managed to
persuade the citizens to give up point 6 because of the contract for
their safety, so the Venetians began the reconstruction of the
castle in 1416. The reconstruction was carried out in a few months,
so it is obvious that in the previous three years they delayed the
demolition of the castle under contract. The coat of arms of Biaggio
Dolphin, the prince and captain of Šibenik between 1415 and 1417,
has been preserved on the eastern wall of the castle, so it is
assumed that the curtain between the eastern carriages was restored
and a new castle door was broken through. They made a direct
connection with the sea by building a "double rampart" due to
distrust of the citizens and the secure supply of the fortress. At
that time, two water cisterns were built inside the castle.
Immediately after the reconstruction of the fortress, it had a crew
of sixty Venetian soldiers, and in 1419 it fell to forty soldiers
due to less danger from the Croatian-Hungarian troops stationed in
the district. We can follow the constant upgrading and strengthening
of the fortress through the reports from 1421 and 1422 with regard
to the development of weapons. We also know that the works were not
finished even in 1440, when the report of the prince of Šibenik
mentions that some walls of the castle are still wooden. And in 1454
the municipality asked the Venetians to approve the reconstruction
of the tower on the castle from the mainland. The tower needed a
promenade and a crown and a roof. In addition, two cisterns were
renovated at that time.
Today's fortress has the shape of an
irregular quadrangle in the ground plan. The perimeter walls of the
castle are fragmentarily preserved, while the southwestern part of
the castle is missing. Two square towers have been preserved in the
eastern part, and two polygonal towers in the northern part. In the
XV. century had a floor plan similar to today's, with the addition
of polygonal towers on the north side in the 16th century. The
mentioned towers on the east side are connected by a high curtain.
At the top of the curtain ends with a recent wall. It was built
after the northeast square corner tower, and logically, leaning
against it. The entrance to the castle is located on the curtain
next to the south tower. It is made in the Gothic style, in the form
of a broken arch without decorations. Above the door is a coat of
arms with a triangular shield on which are placed three parallel
dolphins of the Venetian family Dolfin. Closer to the middle of the
curtain, at a higher position than Dolphin's, the coat of arms
belonging to Moisi Grimani, who performed the function of the prince
of Šibenik in the period between 1430 and 1432, has been preserved.
Above the coat of arms there is a rather relief depiction of a
Venetian lion. To the left of the Venetian lion is the coat of arms
of Antonio Micheli, the prince and captain of Šibenik in the period
from 1561 to 1563. To the right of the lion is the coat of arms of
A. Correra, the castellan of the fortress during the reign of
Antionio Micheli. Then two polygonal towers were built on the north
wall of the fortress. By the same construction technique it was
concluded that they were performed simultaneously. At the northwest
corner of the fort, a door was subsequently opened.
The explosion of gunpowder in 1663 destroyed mostly buildings in
the interior of the castle. The one that happened in 1752 was so
devastating that rocks flew all the way to the sea. It also
destroyed part of the northern curtain, which was later remodeled
with a different construction technique. The southern wall of the
fortress was largely destroyed, only a small part of the square
tower on the southeastern part of the fortress has been preserved.
According to depictions from the second half of the 16th century, we
know that the southern curtain had a crown and three square towers.
On the east side of the castle, two corner towers of a square shape
have been preserved. A cistern has been preserved in the interior of
the north-west one. Traces of demolition and rebuilding are visible
on the southeast corner tower. It is less well preserved. The
parapet wall on the promenade was built in the 19th century. The
fortress was reconstructed in the period from 1822 to 1832. In 1911,
a traffic light station was built on the southeast tower, which
regulated the entry and exit of ships from the port of Šibenik.
Pre-fortress space
The pre-fortress area was built next to
the castle on the edge of the cliff to the east and south. The width
of the space is small and is defined by the castle wall on one side
and the edge of the cliff on the other. And the wall canvas also
reveals several stages of construction. The entrance door to the
fortress lobby is on the east side of the wall, facing north. The
wall facing west ends at the southwest corner of the castle in a
semicircle. At the very end to the north, another entrance door was
built to the foyer of the fortress. On which stands the year 1832,
but judging by the design, they are considered to be much older.
Western and northern barbican
The western sub-wall occupies
an important place in the spatial organization of the castle
defense. This strong fortification was built west and southwest of
the castle, with high walls and towers. The least defended side of
the castle was the one that stretches to the north and west. At the
northwest corner, the castle did not have a tower, and the defense
of the castle was further hampered by hilly terrain. It is logical
that the gently laid terrain was accessible to the enemy. Precisely
to strengthen the defense, a northern sub-wall was built, defined by
a high wall that stretched westwards from the northwest corner of
the fortress, and then went almost at right angles to the sea to a
cliff forty meters away from the sea. At the place where the wall
was closest to the sea, a gate was built that led to the sub-wall
from the direction of the port, so they were in the function of
indirectly connecting the fortress with the sea. Stairs carved into
the living rock led to them from the level of the sub-wall. They are
not fully preserved. Today's remains show that they had a broken
arch with Gothic characteristics. The time of construction of the
western sub-wall dates to the end of the XIV. and the beginning of
the XV. On the north side, under the walls of the castle, there is a
north sub-wall that stretches from the north-west tower to the west
to the former entrance to the vestibule below the polygonal tower of
the west sub-wall.
Double ramparts
The Venetians sought to
establish a direct connection with the sea. For this purpose, a wall
was built which, parallel to the existing city wall, forms a space
in the form of an access road to the castle, which we call a "double
rampart". In its floor plan of the castle of St. Mihovila Coronelli
calls it "strada del soccorso", which means "road of salvation". The
construction of the walls of the double ramparts was an extremely
difficult construction project due to the steep rocks that suddenly
collapsed. In the 40 m long double ramparts it was necessary to
overcome the height difference of 28 m. Due to the great slope, the
builders built the wall in steps, and the promenade of the wall has
several levels interconnected by stone steps. It is interesting that
the research of the "double walls" did not find the remains of the
staircase. Emperor Francis I, who lived in Šibenik in 1818, states
that the castle on the hill was approached by stairs between two
walls, and it was obviously a wooden structure of the staircase. The
construction of "double ramparts" significantly improved the defense
of the castle, especially in the event of a rebellion of citizens
because it provided the castle with food and weapons from the sea,
and could serve as a retreat in case the castle was conquered.
Reconstruction
For a long time, this fortress was under military administration
and was relatively recently opened to the public. The project of
arranging the fortress is an idea from the 1950s, for which the
funds of the former self-contribution were even allocated. Architect
Harold Bilinić, who was responsible for the post-war reconstruction
of Šibenik in the period from 1948 to 1954, and especially the
waterfront and the reconstruction of the City Hall, made the first
known sketch of the summer stage project in the sub-wall in the form
of a Greek amphitheater. In the 70's, work began on cleaning the
fortress and in the 80's of the XX century, there were ideas to
convert the fortress into a summer stage, but they were stopped due
to archaeological research.
4/28/2012 Reconstruction with
funds from the pre-accession EU fund IPAIIIC - BRI in the amount of
60% and the City of Šibenik has started. The plan was to come to
life in the summer of 2014 as an open summer stage, of the
amphitheater type, ie the type of Greek theater with 1,077 seats,
according to the project of the architect Tomislav Krajina and
associates. There is also an underground part in which there is a
museum collection and several auxiliary rooms with various
facilities that are all interconnected. In the basement of the
fortress are built water cisterns, which are the only fully
preserved underground halls and are passable and bridged with a
wooden bridge with a glass fence. The fortress has thus become a
recognizable cultural heritage monument accessible to visitors and a
place that promotes cultural tourism by organizing various cultural,
musical and scenic events.
The revitalization itself did not
pass without problems and criticism. Initially, it was a political
skirmish between the HDZ, which was in opposition at the time, and
the SDP, which had a mayor and deputy mayor, Franko Vidovic, who
conceived and worked on this project the most. , said the
conservator Josip Ćuzela, who accused the investors, that is, the
City and the contractors, of devastating the cultural property that
had been preserved for centuries, only to be desecrated today,
adapting to the project. He believes that a culturicide took place
at the fortress and that, instead of the content that is being built
on it being adapted to the fortress, the opposite is happening, that
this historical fortress from the 13th century is being adapted to
the new content. Conservator Miro Škugor rejected all accusations of
devastation because "such interventions on cultural monuments are
normal everywhere in the world and that what is happening is a"
layer "that will leave the fortress today," which has often
collapsed, built, upgraded over the centuries. , lost and gained
content. Well-known cultural worker Pavle Roca also called the
project a culturicide and opposed the already started proposed
project, proposing a prefabricated stage that would not change the
appearance of the fortress so much. Doubts were also expressed about
the possibility of maintaining the complex and the cultural program
that will be held there. He was also critical of the fact that the
building will no longer be public, although the entrance to the
fortress was charged even before the revitalization. In the middle
of the campaign for the local elections in 2013, serious accusations
continued, so a few days before the second round for the election of
the mayor, news appeared about the devastation of archaeologist
Tijana Jurković to various international institutions that care
about culture. After the close election victory of the HDZ's
candidate for mayor, Željko Burić, the criticism stopped, the works
continued and some unplanned contents were added to the project,
such as an elevator for the disabled and equipment.
The grand
opening took place on July 7, 2014. musical-scenic spectacle in
which more than 70 performers participated, among whom were Josipa
Lisac and Maksim Mrvica, in front of a symbolic (for Šibenik) 1066
spectators. The fortress was opened by President Ivo Josipović, who
said on the occasion: "With the opening of this stage, Šibenik got a
real airfield of the soul, a place that once served for war, now
belongs to artists."
At the renowned Croatian Tourism Days
2014, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of
Commerce and the Croatian Tourist Board, St. Michael's Fortress was
named "Tourist Attraction of the Year" after more than 100,000
visitors visited the fortress in just four months.