Minčeta is one of the four fortresses of the
Dubrovnik city walls; it is a prominent point of Dubrovnik's defense
system towards the mainland due to its position on the northern
side. With St. Vlaha is a kind of symbol of the city of Dubrovnik.
The Minčeta fortress was named after the Menčetić noble family
from Dubrovnik, who ceded the land for its construction. It is a
large circular tower, based on a wide and solid front wall. With its
height and impressive volume, it dominates the northwestern elevated
part of the city and its walls. Minčeta has a projecting crown,
supported by profiled stone consoles. During the Dubrovnik Republic,
the tower was an almost indestructible defensive stronghold with its
fortification function.
From Minčeta, as the highest point of
the Dubrovnik city walls, there is a magnificent view of the city,
its position at the foot of Srđa hill, on one side, and the open
sea, on the other.
The tower was created in two phases. In its original
form, it was quadrangular, it was built in 1319, and Nićifor Ranjina was
recorded as the builder.
After the fall of Constantinople (in
1453), it was decided to convert the existing tower into a round one.
The decision was made in 1455, but due to the plague epidemic,
construction began only in 1461 according to the project of one of the
most famous builders in Europe - Micchelozzo di Bartolomeo from
Florence. Michelozzo built a wide round fortification around the
existing square tower, adapted to the new way of warfare, which he
connected with a newly built system of low sloping front walls. The
walls of this new fort were six meters thick and full and had a whole
series of protected cannon openings.
The imminent fall of Bosnia
to Turkish rule in 1463 accelerated the work even more. After
Micchelozzo's departure from Dubrovnik, the construction of Minčeta was
taken over and continued by Juraj Dalmatinac, who adapted and raised the
entire idea of the appearance of the tower to a higher level, giving it
this magnificent and monumental shape, while its current extended crown
is a later addition. The Minčet Tower was completed in 1464 and is a
symbol of the invincibility of Dubrovnik.
One of the towers of the Ston Walls is also called Minčeta.