Kotišina - The Battle for the most beautiful view

If the road takes you to a small village of Kotišina above Makarska, you'll be amazed. On a very small area, at the very foot of mountain Biokovo, you'll find many interesting sights. You can park your car at the village Kotisina and just follow the signs to the botanic garden. Be aware that the path is rather steep, you will definitely need sturdy shoes.

First of all, and probably most interesting, there's a great fort. The fort is unique in the way that it's literally build into the mountain. Back in 17th century, during the Cretan war (also known as War of Candia), the Venetian Republic that ruled the area was very much interested in defeating the then-Ottoman Empire. To that purpose, they started building forts across Dalmatia, and the one in Kotišina had a great strategic importance. The Kotišina fortress was designed as a defending fortress, used to defend the villagers against the Turks, build in 17th century. This castle was used to protect the people in a case of emergency, not only the locals of Kotišina, but also the inhabitants of Biokovo and Makarska. The Dalmatian battle front was a separate theater of operations, which was involved in the early phase of the war. Kotisina fortress was built in a rock with a deeply hollowed cave used even earlier, in the Bronze Age.

This is not surprising if we know that archaeological finds provide proof of continuous human settlement in Makarska area going back as far as 6000 BC.

Notice the stone channels over the windows that were used to pour boiling oil on their enemies.

Kotisina Fort is a great place to explore

Using the naturally occurring caves of Biokovo mountain, they built walls and formed a proper five-story fort. The fort was used to protect the area and served its purpose. Later on, it was left to decay throughout the centuries, only to be completely reconstructed over the last couple of years. Makarska has recognized the value of cultural heritage as an outstanding potential for the development of selective types of tourism, so the Kotišina fortress was renovated and offered as one of the Makarska's most important cultural places.

Wondering how to get there? Here's a map you can use for driving directions, but make sure to park your car correctly because of the narrow roads. Also, you can use our mobile app to get directions and more info about this spectacular sightseeing. Android and iOS smartphones are supported. <