Janković Tower

Janković (also spelled as Jankovich) Tower, locally known as Kula (Stojana) Jankovića, stands in the hamlet of Islam Grčki, in the county of Zadar in Croatia.

In the mid-17th century, this area was effectively the border between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. After the Turks were finally driven out, this tower, which had belonged to a Turkish landlord named Yusuf Aga Tunić, was awarded to Stojan Janković by the Venetians for his services. Stojan was the commander of Morlach troops who had fought, with distinction, in the service of the Venetians against the Ottomans. He then made it his family home and, in 1675, also built the nearby village church. His descendants still own the complex.

The tower, sometimes also called a castle because it forms a larger complex with its outbuildings, is a mix of a fortification and a residential complex. It obviously existed when it was awarded to Stojan in the mid-17th century, but I was unable to find out if when it was first built.

Janković Tower is now still partly a private residence but is also exploited as a small hotel, so not freely accessible. A curious little tower.

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