St. Nicholas' Fortress, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, formally opened its doors to visitors after a two-year-long renovation.

In the last three years, about five million kuna (EUR 675,000) was spent on the revamping this fortress, and 4 million was set aside by the Sibenik-Knin County while the rest was provided by the Culture Ministry.

The project of revitalisation of the site encompassed the thorough cleaning and reconstruction of some segments of the fortress to improve the safety conditions for visitors.

Attending today’s ceremony, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek, thanked all who participated in the project.

She emphasised the importance of the fortress as part of the national heritage.

Sibenik is the fifth city in the world to have two landmarks added to the UN World Heritage List — the St. James’ Cathedral and this fortress, she recalled.

In July 2017, Sibenik’s St. Nicholas Fortress and Zadar’s fortified city walls and gates were officially inscribed on UNESCO’s protected world heritage list at the 41st meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Krakow.

The two coastal sites were inscribed as part of protected defence systems on the territory of the former Republic of Venice. Sibenik’s St. Nicholas Fortress, one of the strongest fortifications on the Adriatic, and Zadar’s 3-km-long fortified city walls and gates were built in the 16th century by the then Republic of Venice as defence from invading Turks.

Sibenik’s cathedral, which was built in the 15th century, won its global recognition in 2000, when it was entered in the UNESCO World Heritage List. it is often known as “St Jacob’s”, because Croatian, like many other languages, uses the same name for both “James” and “Jacob”. It is dedicated to Saint James the Greater.