Nehaj Tower

Nehaj Tower, locally known as Kula (tower) or Kaštel (castle) Nehaj or Lodi, lies in the town of Kaštel Štafilić, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

After the fall of Bosnia to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, then part of the Venetian Republic, faced the threat of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners, the Split Archbishopric, monasteries, and nobles from Trogir and Split sought to protect their estates and the villagers who worked for them. Over the following decades, they built 17 fortifications and fortified 12 villages along the coast of Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split.

Nehaj Tower was one of these fortifications. In 1548, brothers Ivan and Ludovik Lodi received permission from the Duke of Trogir, Garzoni, to construct their tower on a sea rock near the shore. Construction began but was halted when both brothers died. Inheritance issues divided ownership, leading to a complete halt in construction and leaving the tower unfinished. By then, it had reached its current height.

In the second half of the 17th century, the tower became the property of the noble Papalić family from Split. During the same period, the area near the tower was settled by Uskok refugees from Klis. These irregular soldiers named the tower and settlement Nehaj. Nehaj was the name of their original stronghold in the town of Senj, about 250 km north, which they had been forced to abandon by the Venetians in 1618.

Today, Nehaj Tower appears to have no practical use and can only be admired from the outside, a picturesque remnant next to a small harbor.

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