Croatia · 11th century
Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress, Italian Fortezza di San Lorenzo, often called "Dubrovnik's Gibraltar", is a fortress and theater outside the western wall of the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, 37 metres (121 ft) above sea level. Famous for its plays and importance in resisting Venetian rule, it overshadows the two entrances to the city, from the sea, and by land. Early in the 11th century, the Venetians attempted to build a fort on the same spot where Fort Lovrijenac currently stands. If they had succeeded, they would have kept Dubrovnik under their power, but the people of the city beat them to it. The "Chronicles of Ragusa" reveal how the fort was built within just three months and from then on constantly reconstructed. When the Venetian ships arrived, full of materials for the construction of the fort, they were told to return to Venice.
Text adapted from “Lovrijenac” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lovrijenac ranks #845 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 79 mapped in Croatia. Founded c. 1025, it is older than 91% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 436 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,934 times in the last 60 days, more than 86% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Nikšić, 70 km away. It is one of the 32 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Dalmatia. It is stop 18 of 21 on the Dalmatian fortress coast, Zadar to Dubrovnik. See how Croatia compares in the castle statistics.
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