Nehaj Fortress: Difference between revisions

It was built by Croatian army general [[Ivan Lenković]], a captain of the ''[[Uskoks]]'', on the [[hill]] [[Nehaj]].<ref name="Bousfield 313">Bousfield (2003), p. 227.</ref><ref>[http://www.culturenet.hr/default.aspx?ID=23241 Senj] culturenet.hr</ref> Finished in 1558, it was built on the remains of ruined [[Church (building)|churches]], [[Monastery|monasteries]] and [[house]]s which were situated outside of the walls of Senj.<ref name="Bousfield 313"/> These buildings were scrapped since it was concluded that they would not survive anyway if they were outside the city walls, as the Ottomans would loot them or use them as housing during sieges. The fortress was mainly built to fight the Ottoman Empire, and to be used as a base for the Uskoks. The Uskoks (who built and inhabited the fort) were great enemies of the Ottomans, as they had previously taken another city called Klis, where the Uskoks used to reside. Before the fortress was built, Senj had been besieged three times, but none succeeded; after the fort was built, the fortress or Senj were not attacked again. However, the Uskoks were also known to be enemies of the Venecians, as the Venetians were quite aggressive toward the Croatian costal cities.The Venecians viewed them as pirates, since they would plunder and sink their ships. They were known to travel as far as Istria and plunder Venecian ships. In fact, the Venecians were so disturbed by the Uskok attacks that they had a war with Austria (which Senj was a part of at that time). One of the peace terms was the banishment of the Uskoks. The Emperor did banish the Uskoks and that was their end. However, during the hundred years that they were active they stood by their oath of vengeance towards all their enemies which they took when their former fortress of Klis was conquered by the Ottomans in 1537. The Uskoks and the Fortress successfully held the boarder and kept invaders away, as the fortress was never conquered or torn down.