Fortress Klis

A bit of background - Klis is a large fortress, originally Illyrian, then Roman, then the seat of the Croatian royal house. There was an epic siege in the 16th century which saw the Ottomans take the castle and then a hundred years later the Venetians captured it. As the frontier with the Turks moved further east the castle declined in importance and eventually became a national monument with a history museum and armoury. It is probably more famous for being the setting of Mereen in Game of Thrones though!

The castle was spread along a ridgeline and divided into three areas, each higher up the hill than the last, the oldest part being the furthest away as the castle slowly expanded over the centuries. Like my waistline. Klis fortress was never actually stormed and each time it was captured it was was taken by negotiated surrender rather than assault.

We spent around 90 minutes in the castle, mostly being impressed by the views and the location where it was built. There were lots of information boards which gave little snapshots, such as the secret door and the converted mosque. There was an interesting armoury showing the weapons the Croatians used against the Turks and the history of the castle in the period from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. During this period the castle was occupied at various times by Croatians, Turks, Venetians and Austrians.

There were also shots from GoT showing scenes using the castle, particularly to crucify the slave masters along the entrance to the third level. It was particularly nice as there were very few other people there so we could take our time looking at things and getting photos.