UNESCO Presents World Heritage Certificate to Šibenik

St. Nicholas Fortress in Šibenik,(Photo credit: planetware.com)

UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, Francesco Bandarin, has presented the head of Šibenik-Knin County, Goran Pauk, the certificate of inscription to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The presentation of the certificate took place at the Croatian National Theatre in Šibenik on Thursday with a number of dignitaries in attendance, including Croatia’s Culture Minister.

On 9 July 2017 at the 41st meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Poland, the Venetian Works of defence between 15th and 17th centuries were inscribed as UNESCO protected World Heritage sites.

This property consists of 15 components of defence works in Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro, spanning more than 1,000 kilometres between the Lombard region of Italy and the eastern Adriatic Coast.

The Croatian sites include the defensive system of Zadar and St. Nicholas Fortress in Šibenik.

“I congratulate everyone involved in this long process of making a nomination, and I am proud to share your joy today and have had the opportunity to see how much you are committed to the preservation of heritage. Šibenik is one of the few cities that has two properties under UNESCO protection, along with London, Berlin, Beijing and New Delhi, and I want to welcome you to the club,” Bandarin said.

Cathedral of Saint James in Šibenik also has UNESCO World Heritage status (Photo: Sibenik Tourist Board)

Once the largest city-fortress in the entire Republic of Venice, Zadar’s city defence walls allowed it keep more of its independence than most of its neighbouring cities, and meant that it was never captured by the Turks.

Built by Venetians, the city walls have had several entrances knocked through them at more secure points in Zadar’s history. Today only portions of the walls and eight gates remain.

Zadar’s “Kopnena vrata” (Landward Gate) (photo credit: Maestralno under CC)

In Šibenik, St. Nicholas Fortress got its name from the Benedictine Monastery of St. Nicholas, which was on the island, but due to the construction of the fortress had to be demolished.

At the request of domestic Croat population of Šibenik, the Venetian captain Alojzije de Canal decided to build a fort on an island of Ljuljevac on 30 April 1525.

St. Nicholas Fortress (Photo credit: Visit Šibenik)

The fortress was designed and built by the famous Venetian architect and builder Hyeronimus di San Michaela. The imposing fortress prevented Turkish boats from reaching the port in the 16th century.

The fortress is one of the most valuable and best-preserved examples of defense architecture in Dalmatia. The fortress is made of brick because this material was considered to be most resistant to cannonballs, while the foundations are made of stone.

Video from the presentation below (courtesy of ŠibenikIN)