Prozor Fortress, the stone guardian of Vrlika

The Prozor fortress sits on a cliff 200 m above the town of Vrlika. Duke and Herzog Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić had it built in 1406, and it was part of an integral system of defence against the Turks. In the early 15th century, the Turks increasingly pushed into these regions. First to come under attack was the area around the source of the Cetina – Vrh Rika. The population retreated before the Turks and settled at the foot of the fortress, and from the old name of the place from which the inhabitants had moved, Vrlika was formed. The Turks finally took the fortress in 1523.

The Venetians conquered it in 1688, and the Turks again briefly in 1715. During that conquest, the Venetian captain negotiated a surrender to the Turks. According to some accounts, in accordance with the terms of the surrender, the lives of the defenders were spared, but the population that had been hiding there was slaughtered. On a plaque placed in front of the fortress in 2015, it states that all the defenders were killed. In any case, after that the fortress was no longer used. The local population calls it Gradina.

The Prozor fortress today is partially restored and is a protected cultural heritage site. You can reach it by car. At its foot there is a large parking area. From the fortress a beautiful view opens up over the Vrlika field, the Cetina and Lake Peruća, while Dinara and Kamešnica frame the entire landscape.