Fort of St. Nikola and Stari Grad Plain

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fort of St. Nikola

   Šibenik has the odd distinction of being a Croatian city founded by Croats rather than by the Greeks or Romans who established most of the Adriatic coast, and its old town climbs a hillside above a natural harbour, a maze of stone lanes and stairs. The harbour is approached through a narrow channel from the sea, and the fort of St Nicholas guards the entrance, standing on a small rocky islet. The Venetians built it in the 1540s to protect the city from Ottoman galleys, and it is a remarkable piece of military design, with a triangular plan and walls shaped to deflect cannon fire. UNESCO has listed it among the Venetian Works of Defence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, together with the defences of Zadar. The fort is reached by boat from the Šibenik waterfront.

   Read the complete Fort of St. Nikola write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Fort of St. Nikola is where the day begins. Next is Historic City of Trogir.

2. 2. Historic City of Trogir

   Trogir is an island, though you barely notice it. The old town sits on a tiny islet between the mainland and the larger island of Čiovo, linked to both by short bridges, and inside its walls is one of the best preserved medieval towns on the Adriatic, a UNESCO site of narrow lanes, stone palaces and churches, crammed into an area you can walk across in five minutes.

   Read the complete Historic City of Trogir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Historic City of Trogir comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stari Grad Plain.

3. 3. Stari Grad Plain

   Hvar's best farmland is not on a hillside but on a flat, fertile plain just inland from the town of Stari Grad, and it has been laid out in the same pattern for about twenty-four centuries. Greek settlers from Paros founded a colony called Pharos here in the fourth century BC, and they divided the plain into neat rectangular plots, marked out by dry-stone walls. The walls are still there, the plots still follow the old grid, and the people who farm them today are growing grapes and olives much as their predecessors did. UNESCO listed the plain as a World Heritage site in 2008, and for once the listing is tied to something you can actually walk across.

   Read the complete Stari Grad Plain write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Stari Grad Plain. Next is back through Historic City of Trogir.

4. 4. back through Historic City of Trogir

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Historic City of Trogir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Historic City of Trogir, late in the day. Next is Fort of St. Nikola, 59 km on.

5. 5. Fort of St. Nikola

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Fort of St. Nikola write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Fort of St. Nikola. That is the ride.