Photos of Senj, a fortified town, Croatia

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Senj, a fortified town

Senj is an old town on the upper Adriatic coast, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. Its symbol is the Nehaj Fortress, dating from 1558, on the hill with the same name, overlooking the town.

View of Senj
 
Waterfront
 
The waterfront
 
Monument to the Senj defenders
 
Senj from the pier
 
Nehaj Fortress
 
Wood carving of Ivan Lenković, Nehaj
 
Uskoks couple, Nehaj Fortress
 
Uskok robe, Nehaj Fortress
 
View to Mala Kapela and Velebit
 
View to Krk
 
View over Senj
 
View over Senj
 
City Gate
 
Old city
 
Old city
 
Lion's Tower
 
Trybenac Tower
 
Lipica Tower
 
Glagolitic inscription
 
St. Francis church remains
 
Cilnica square
 
Cilnica square fountain
 
Bishop's convent
 
Ulica Đure Daničića
 
Cathedral
 
Interior of Cathedral
 
Painting in the Cathedral
 
Sculptures in the Cathedral
 
Altar of Mary in the Cathedral
 
Frankopanski Trg
 
Pedestrian street
 
Gradski muzej
 
Šabac Tower
 
Dusk along the waterfront
 
Dusk in Senj
 

The Nehaj Fortress (Tvrđava Nehaj, from the Croatian term Ne hajati, Don't care) was finished in 1558. It was built on the remains of ruined churches, monasteries and houses, which were situated outside Senj's walls. It is 18 metres tall and 23 metres wide, square-shaped, with walls averaging 2 to 3 metres in thickness. It is now a museum.

The fortress was built in 1558 by Croatian army general Ivan Lenković, a captain of the Uskoks, irregular soldiers who lived in this region. Bands of Uskoks fought a guerrilla war against the Ottomans; they had swift rowing boats, and because they were rarely paid for their services, they also resorted to acts of piracy. Eventually, the whole city of Senj lived from piracy!

The old city has the remains of its Kaštel (Castle), 16th-century fortifications with large towers. In front of the Senj City Museum is a memorial to the Glagolitic script, the oldest known Slavic alphabet, generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril. There are examples of this ancient script on the pews of the Co-Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in 1169; heavily damaged in bombardments in 1943 during the Second World War, it was rebuilt.