Castel de S. Nicholo

The town of Šibenik has a fortification system consisting of four fortresses:

St. Nicholas Fortress (Tvrđava sv. Nikole) St. Michael's Fortress (Tvrđava sv. Mihovila) St. John's Fortress (Tvrđava sv. Ivana) Barone Fortress (Tvrđava Barone)

Only St. Nicholas Fortress is at sea, at the entrance to the Šibenik port, and the remaining three are on land.

St. Nicholas Fortress was built on the left side at the entrance to St. Anthony Channel, on the island called Ljuljevac. The island is situated at the entrance to the Šibenik channel across the Jadrija beach lighthouse. St. Nicholas Fortress got its name from the Benedictine Monastery of St. Nicholas, which was originally on the island, but due to the construction of the fortress, it had to be demolished. At the request of domestic Croat population of Šibenik, the Venetian captain Alvise Canal decided to build a fort on the island of Ljuljevac on 30 April 1525. The fortress was designed and built by the famous Venetian architect and builder Giangirolamo Sanmicheli (nephew of Michele Sanmicheli). It was built by in the 16th century to prevent Turkish boats from reaching the port. St. Nicholas Fortress was armed with 32 cannons. However, its imposing appearance and size were a bigger threat to the enemy than cannons ever were.