Zala's Tower, Igrane

Zala's Tower rises above the village of Igrane, in the municipality of Podgora in Split-Dalmatia County, on the Makarska Littoral. It is of interest to visitors because of the story of the village's defence against Ottoman attacks and because of the conspicuous traces of construction in two phases.

The tower is linked to the local hero Zale Antičić, who in 1687 defended Igrane from a Turkish assault. It is a four-storey building with a square plan and a hipped roof covered with stone slabs. On the western façade, on the ground floor, there is a door with an arched opening, and at the level of the first floor a smaller door, as is usual on defensive buildings. A row of loopholes runs across all levels. Two building phases are visible: the top floor with parapets at the corners and in the middle of the façade was added later, while the parapets from the earlier phase remain on the lower level. Repair and reconstruction of the tower were carried out around the year 2000.

Zala's Tower is a protected cultural property and is entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-4794.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).