Sućurac Castle

Sućurac Castle, locally known as Kaštel Sućurac or simply Kaštilac, lies in the town of Kaštel Sućurac, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

The first fortification at this site, then a rock near the seashore, was a defensive tower built by the Archbishop of Split, Andrea dei Benzi di Gualdo, in 1392. It served to protect the church estate and the villagers of a small settlement, called Putalj, located further up the Kozjak hill.

After the fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, being part of the Venetian Republic, faced the danger of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners; the Split Archbishopric, monasteries and nobles from Trogir and Split, therefore wished to protect their estates and the villagers working for them. So, during the following decades they started to build 17 fortifications and fortified 12 villages along the coast of the Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split. The old tower of Sućurac was strengthened already in 1474.

In 1488 the tower was further incorporated into a newly built fortified summer residence for Bartolomeo Averoldi, the Archbishop of Split. The site grew into a town by itself, and the castle got its final form in 1509. By then, it was part of the town's defenses and connected to the town wall.

At present, only the base of the old tower remains. How and when it disappeared, I don't know.

The complex of buildings that make up Sućurac Castle are now a quiet small neighborhood with residences, a shop and a small museum. A picturesque site.

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