Tor Fortress, Jelsa

Above Jelsa on the island of Hvar, on a prominent ridge southeast of the settlement, rises Tor, a former hillfort with a tower from the Hellenistic period. The place is of interest to hikers and lovers of antiquity because it opens a view of a defensive system such as the local inhabitants built centuries before the Romans.

On the top of the hill stands a quadrangular tower built of large stone blocks, and the summit and the tower are encircled by a hillfort rampart. When the tower was built, an older prehistoric rampart was cut lengthwise and then walled around with huge unworked blocks. Natural protection was provided by the southern chain of island heights, from which access was not possible. The settlement spread over the northern slopes, and numerous surface finds attest to long-lasting life at this place. The site is dated from the late Bronze Age to the third century BC, and the tower dates from the fifth to the third century BC.

The fortress is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code RST-0028-1962.

Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).