There
are few of the fortresses in Europe (or in the world actually) which
were sieged and conquered and reconquered as many times as Klis.
The
beginning of its history is lost in centuries, what we know for sure
is the Illyrian ramparts were built here to control the pass between
Kozjak and Mosor mountains before 9 century AD: we know that since in
9AD the fort was finally defeated by Romans after years of attacks
and unsuccessful sieges. At the foot of the Klis fortress the remains
of the ramparts are still visible.During
Roman time “Clissa” fort was enlarged and continue to guard the
passage from mountains to the sea and served well to its many owners:
nations and states were changing, but fort was only getting stronger.
After
Romans here come Slavic tribes, Mongol attacks, Knights Templar,
Croatian kings (for a while Klis was a king' main seat); here comes
Hungary fighting with Croats for Dalmatia, then Ottoman Turks and
Venice rule, Austro-Hungary and Croats again – the fortress has
seen them all.
Last time it was used as military fort in WWII by
Italian and German troops – which lead to bombing and partial
destruction of the place.
But
after the war it was restored and now it is on a protected monuments
list of Croatia. Definitely worth visiting: the fortress itself is
still impressive and here held many events from antic times through
medieval reenactments and “modern history” performances.
You
might see it as well in several movies and series, I guess the last
one so far was Game of Thrones.
official website
from
above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Syh3w0-jc
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