St. Michael’s Fortress, Šibenik
St. Michael’s Fortress, named after the patron saint of Šibenik, is located in the city centre. It rests on a 200-foot hill offering a good view of the waterway access to the port of Šibenik. This position was strategically important because it was close to the shore yet protected by the steepness of the slope. The fortress without doubt already existed at the time Šibenik was first mentioned, in 1066. Since the fort has been damaged, demolished and rebuilt throughout history, nothing remains of this original fortress. It is assumed that the oldest structures still existing today originate from the 13th century.
The fort has an irregularly quadrangular layout with two towers on the eastern and northern sides. The ones on the eastern wall are the oldest, with a building style and details that suggest they were built in the Romanesque period. The much more recent northern towers were erected in the 16thcentury. These towers with a polygonal layout and a slanted base were built in this way to offer protection against firearms. However, if we consider the position, historical genesis and overall impression of St. Michael’s fortress, it can be described as an example of a medieval fortification. The original shape of its towers and walls, which were tall and relatively thin, ending in battlements, was medieval. Today, different layers of stone stand witness to the fact that this fortress has been rebuilt many times throughout history, with the coats of arms of the Šibenik dukes from the Venetian period marking each stage in this construction process. Since the fort was some distance from the shore, after occupying Šibenik in 1412, the Venetians also built a protected corridor with two parallel walls in order to allow aid delivery and evacuation towards the sea.
In 17thand 18thcenturies, gunpowder explosions damaged the fortress, destroying the buildings inside it, as well as its south-west corner. St. Michael’s chapel from the medieval period was also destroyed, so today we know nothing about its location or shape. As recently as 2014, the fortress was renovated and it now serves a number of cultural purposes, with exhibitions and concerts taking place there throughout the summer.
Andrej Žmegač, PhD
Senior Research Adviser
Institute of Art History
Fort Santiago, Intramuros
In 1571, Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi re-established Rajah Soliman’s Manila as the new capital for the growing Spanish empire in the Far East, while the fallen rajah’s wooden citadel was rebuilt as the headquarters for Spain’s military. As the City grew in wealth and prominence in its new place in the world stage, so too did Fort Santiago got established as a formidable symbol of Spanish power in the orient.
The first Spanish fort, a palisaded structure of logs and earth, was destroyed not long after establishment, when in 1574 the Chinese pirate Lin Feng (Limahong) launched an almost successful siege of Manila. The Spanish army repelled the attack, but the fort, in realization of its defects, was rebuilt in stone. The present fort, constructed using volcanic tuffa (adobe), was built between 1589 and 1592. It was named after St. James the Moor-slayer, known by the Spanish as Santiago Matamoros.
The fort is notable for being a headquarters of the armies of several foreign powers in Philippine history, including the Spanish (1571 to 1898), the British (1762 through 1764 during the Seven Years War), the Americans (1898 to 1946), and the Japanese (1942 through 1945). The Fort survived the centuries, through fires, earthquakes, and other calamities, with it coming out each time as more resilient than ever. The final nail on the coffin, however, came in 1945 when it was destroyed during the Second World War, when artillery fire reduced its walls to rubble and tanks rammed through its majestic gates. Reconstruction after the war was slow and sporadic, until 1979 when the Intramuros Administration was formed to oversee the restoration of Intramuros. The Fort has since then been restored to its former appearance, now more vibrant and lively than ever.
In recognition of its importance to national patrimony, the State had endowed on it several honors and accolades all through out the years, such as in 1951 when it was declared by Congress as a National Shrine and a National Monument; then in 2014 when it was decorated by the National Museum of the Philippines as a National Cultural Treasure.
Intramuros Administration
