Remains of the Grad Fortress, Jelsa

South-east of Jelsa on the island of Hvar, on a hill at the locality of Galešnik, lie the remains of the fortress called Grad. The position is strategically prominent, with a view of the Brač–Hvar channel, so the location is of interest to history lovers and excursionists.

The fortress was built on a natural rock that is not accessible from all sides. It has an irregular, elongated shape with a broken line of the outer wall, which is in places about four metres high. The walls are built of rubble stone in regular courses with abundant use of mortar, and along them, at regular intervals, holes for stone beams can be seen. In the north-western part are the foundation remains of buildings for the garrison, and in the lower part a square water cistern with remains of a barrel vault and hydraulic plaster. According to the manner of construction, the fortress is dated to the 6th century.

The remains of the fortress are a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6412. They are located in Split-Dalmatia County.

Photo: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).