Tvrdalj Castle

Tvrdalj Castle (Croatian: Gradina Tvrdalj) is a castle in Stari Grad, on the island of Hvar, Croatia.

Tvrdalj was the summer residence of Petar Hektorović, the Croatian poet (1487–1572). During the 16th century, the island of Hvar came under attack from the Ottoman Turks. Hektorović, one of the local nobles, undertook to fortify his house so that it could act as shelter for the local citizens.

Tvrdalj is a well-preserved Renaissance building, with a long closed facade on the seaward side, to protect it from attack. The interior courtyard contains a sea-water fish pool, enclosed by a vaulted and arcaded terrace. Next to it is a tower with a dovecote. The living quarters, together with the servant quarters, and several wells, are arranged around the pool. Behind the main buildings is a walled garden where Hektorović cultivated herbs and medicinal plants.

A series of inscriptions are set into walls of the mansion in Latin and Croatian. Those in Croatian are considered to be some of the oldest extant.

PETRVS HECTOREVS MARINI FILIVS PROPRIO SVMPTV ET INDVSTRIA AD SVVM ET AMICOR, VSVM CONSTRVXIT Translation: Petar Hektorović, son of Marin, built this at his own expense and by his own efforts, for his own and his friends' use.

Text adapted from “Tvrdalj Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Tvrdalj Castle ranks #5,193 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #43 of the 79 mapped in Croatia. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,437 times in the last 60 days, more than 59% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Split, 38 km away. It is one of the 32 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Dalmatia. It is stop 14 of 21 on the Dalmatian fortress coast, Zadar to Dubrovnik. See how Croatia compares in the castle statistics.

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