Duare Castle

Duare Castle, locally known as Utvrda Duare, lies above the village of Zadvarje, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

In the 15th century, Zadvarje, first mentioned in 1408, was located in the medieval county of Radobilja. After the fall of the Bosnian kingdom to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Radobilja fell under Venetian protection. For the Venetians, Radobilja then became an important outpost of their holdings along the coast. They probably began construction of the castle, which was first mentioned in 1482.

In 1502, the Second Ottoman-Venetian War ended with a peace treaty, and ownership of Duare Castle was transferred to the Ottomans. In the second half of the 16th century, the Turks reinforced the castle. They also built two towers on the mountains east of the fortress, the Avala and Poletnica towers, and two smaller towers west of the castle.

War broke out again between the two powers during the 17th century, and the castle changed hands several times through the conflict. During one attack, the cache of gunpowder and weapons exploded, destroying most of the north wall. In 1684, the Ottomans were driven out of the castle for the last time. They attempted to retake it the following year but failed.

As the Ottoman Empire retreated further, Duare Castle lost its military importance in the early 18th century. However, it maintained a military garrison until the beginning of the 19th century before being abandoned.

The castle sits on a ridge and features a triangular layout.

Duare Castle is freely accessible. A nice castle ruin. You can walk a short distance from the nearest road to get there. I saw no sign of the Ottoman towers that were mentioned.

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