Dubrovnik City Walls

The Walls of Dubrovnik circle the entire Old Town in one unbroken run of about 1,940 metres, reaching up to 25 metres high and as much as 6 metres thick on the landward side. Most of what stands today was built between the 13th and 17th centuries, with the last major addition — the Bastion of St. Stephen — finished around 1660.

Three gates originally controlled access: the Pile Gate to the west and the Ploče Gate to the east, both once secured by drawbridges raised at sunset, plus the Buža Gate, cut into the northern wall in the early 1900s under Austro-Hungarian rule for easier resident access.

Along the walls sit sixteen towers, several bastions, and a few freestanding forts. Fort Minčeta, at the northwest corner, started out as a square fort in 1319 and was rebuilt into the round tower seen today in the 1460s by the Florentine architect Michelozzo — still the highest point on the fortifications. Fort Bokar guards the approach to the Pile Gate, while the freestanding Fort Lovrijenac on its own cliff, and Fort Revelin by the old harbor, round out the city's main defenses.

The walls were included in Dubrovnik's UNESCO World Heritage listing in 1979, and much of their upkeep is owed to the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, founded in 1952 to restore walls that had been left overgrown for decades. Walking the full loop is still the best way to see the Old Town, and plenty of visitors pair it with a Dubrovnik gulet cruise the same day.