Kanli Kula and Forte Mare fortresses reopened to visitors

The Kanli Tower and Forte Mare fortresses are open again for individual and group visits from today, after the winter break, every day from 9 a.m. to 19 p.m.

The price of tickets remained unchanged: for individual visits it is two euros and for group visits one euro. Last year, these two fortresses were visited by over 77 thousand tourists

The Forte Mare fortress, in which the Summer Cinema operates today, has been nominated for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the project for the inclusion of Venetian defensive fortresses between the 15th and 17th centuries.

The Forte Mare fortress is the best-preserved Herzegovinian fortress, the construction of which was started by Herceg Stjepan Vukčić Kosača in the first half of the 15th century.

During the Turkish era, the fortress got its present dimensions, and the Turks added to it and renovated it on several occasions. It is assumed that the most extensive works were carried out after 1542 because from that time it is mentioned as a strong tower or as the tower of Abbas Pasha. After conquering Herceg Novi, the Venetians rebuilt the tower, adapting it to the defense and armament of the time. They named the tower Forte mare (Sea Fortress or Sea Fortress), which name has been retained to this day. With the arrival of Austria-Hungary on the territory of Boka, the fortress fits into the fortification system for the defense of the entrance to the Bay of Kotor.

Starting this summer, Kanli Kula should be part of the so-called "cultural 3D mapping", which, among other things, includes a new offer - "smart glasses" through which visitors will be able to see and experience how the fortress once looked and for what purposes it was used, as well as a modern audio guide.

The Turkish fortress Kanli-kula - "bloody tower" is part of the fortification system of the Old Town and dominates it with its size and position.

Kanli-kula was first mentioned in written documents in the middle of the 17th century by the Turkish travel writer Evlija Celebija, who arrived in Herceg Novi from Dubrovnik in May 1664.

The exact time of construction of the Kanli Tower is not known, but it is assumed that it began in the Middle Ages. The final shape of the fortress was given by the Turks, while the Venetians, after the capture of Herceg Novi, carried out certain repairs because the fortress was significantly damaged in the war.