Kanli Kula fortress
Ottoman fortress of 1539 at the top of Herceg Novi Old Town, once the town prison, since 1960 a 1,000-seat open-air stage
Ottoman fortress · Northern
Photo: Marcin Konsek · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kanli Kula, the "bloody tower", is the Ottoman fortress at the top of the Old Town of Herceg Novi, 85 m above the sea. The Ottomans built it in 1539 on the foundations of an older fortification, and during their two centuries in the town it served as a prison, which gave it its name. Since 1960 its interior has been an open-air stage with 1,000 seats, home to the Herceg Novi Film Festival and the town's summer concerts. It is open daily, 09:00-17:00 in winter and 09:00-19:00 from mid-April, with a EUR 4 ticket, and is one of the town's fortresses, with Forte Mare on the shore and Španjola on the hill above.
Opening hours and tickets
| Hours, winter (from early November) | Daily 09:00-17:00 |
| Hours from mid-April | Daily 09:00-19:00 |
| Individual ticket | EUR 4 |
| Groups of 10 or more | EUR 3 per person |
The fortress is run by JUK Herceg Fest, which keeps the same hours and prices at Forte Mare on the waterfront and announces each change of hours.
What to see
- The prisoners' drawings. Galleys, crosses, dates and coats of arms scratched into the walls of the cells by the men held here.
- The cistern, later used as a prison cell.
- A damaged cannon base with a Turkish inscription.
- The "pro pace" stone, which may point to a peaceful purpose of the earlier building on the site.
- The stage and the view. The amphitheatre inside the walls seats 1,000, expandable to 1,500; from the ramparts the view opens over the town and the sea.
History
The fortress has an irregular footprint of about 70 by 60 m with towers at the corners. The Ottomans, who held Herceg Novi from 1482 to 1687, built it in 1539 on an earlier fortification, and the traveller Evliya Çelebi described it in 1664, the first written mention. Through the Ottoman period it was the town's prison, and its reputation gave it the name Kanli Kula. After Venice took the town in 1687 the fortress was repaired, and Venetian and later Austro-Hungarian work can be seen in the fabric.
The modern chapter began in 1960, when the interior was rebuilt as a summer stage. The earthquake of 1979 forced a second reconstruction, carried out in a Venetian style. Today the fortress is one of the town's open-air venues: the Herceg Novi Film Festival, Sunčane skale, Guitar Art Fest, Music Days, concerts and folklore evenings are all held here.
Getting there
Kanli Kula is at the upper, northern end of the pedestrian Old Town, about 400 m (5 minutes on foot) from the town centre; the way up from the shore passes the clock tower and climbs the Old Town steps. Parking in the town is in zones; the garage and the zone prices are on the Herceg Novi page, with road distances from Kotor, Tivat and Igalo.
Nearby
- Clock tower, the Old Town gate below the fortress.
- Forte Mare, the sea fortress, same ticket price and hours.
- Španjola fortress on the hill above the town.
- Monument to King Tvrtko I on Škver, the harbour square.
- Herceg Novi town museum.
History
1482-1687
Ottoman Herceg Novi
The Ottomans hold the town for two centuries; the fortress serves as a prison, which gives it the name "bloody tower".
1539
Fortress built
Built by the Ottomans on the foundations of an earlier fortification; a stone marked "pro pace" may point to a peaceful purpose of the earlier building.
1664
First written mention
Described in Evliya Çelebi's travel account.
1687
Venetian repairs
Venice takes the town; Venetian and later Austro-Hungarian work is visible in the fabric.
1960
Summer stage
The interior is rebuilt as an open-air stage with 1,000 seats, expandable to 1,500.
1979
Rebuilt after the earthquake
Reconstructed again, in a Venetian style, after the 1979 earthquake.
On these trips
- 3 days in Montenegro: Kotor, Lovćen, BudvaDay 2 · Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks and Herceg Novi
- 7 days in Montenegro: coast to Durmitor loopDay 2 · Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks and Herceg Novi
- Day trips from Kotor: 7 trips with drive timesTrip 4 · Herceg Novi and the ferry back
- 10 days in Montenegro: the full loop by carDay 2 · Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks and Herceg Novi
Sources
Herceg Novi Tourist Board, Kanli kula · JUK Herceg Fest, Produženo radno vrijeme na tvrđavama Kanli kula i Forte Mare (hours from 15 April, tickets) · JUK Herceg Fest, Od 3. novembra novo radno vrijeme za posjete (winter hours 09:00-17:00) · National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, Fortresses · Tourist Organisation Herceg Novi, useful information (parking zones, garage) · OpenStreetMap way 145949506, Kanli Kula, ODbL · OSRM routing (car and foot, OpenStreetMap data, ODbL; times without traffic)
