Fort Revelin and Bokar Tower: Dubrovnik's landward defenders

Two fortresses that saved the city from different threats

Fort Revelin and Bokar Tower occupy opposite sides of the old town, facing opposite threats. Revelin, at the eastern landward approach, was built to stop an army marching along the coast road. Bokar, at the southwestern corner, was built to control the sea passage between the main walls and Lovrijenac fortress on its opposite cliff. Together with Minčeta in the north and Lovrijenac in the west, they form the four outer bastions of one of the most comprehensive medieval-Renaissance defensive systems in Europe.

Walking the city walls brings you into direct contact with both. Fort Revelin is visible from the walls near Ploče gate; Bokar is passed on the southwestern circuit section. But understanding what these structures were designed to do makes the walls walk significantly richer.

Fort Revelin: the landward guardian

Why it was built

In the early 16th century, Dubrovnik faced a genuinely existential threat: the Ottoman Empire had expanded to control most of the Balkan hinterland, and the landward approaches to the city were defensively inadequate against modern artillery-equipped armies. The Ottoman siege of Belgrade (1521) and the catastrophic Battle of Mohács (1526) — which broke the Kingdom of Hungary and left much of Central Europe exposed — focused Ragusan minds powerfully.

The Senate commissioned a massive new fortress at the eastern (landward) gate: Fort Revelin. Work began in 1463 on initial structures, but the major construction that produced the current fortress was carried out in the 1520s–1530s, designed with advice from Antonio Ferramolino of Bergamo, one of the leading military engineers of the period.

Architecture

Revelin is a detached fortress — separated from the main city walls by a deep moat — on the eastern side of Ploče gate. Unlike the round towers of Minčeta or Bokar, Revelin has a trapezoidal plan with angled corner bastions specifically designed to deflect artillery fire (a rounded bastion absorbs direct hits better than a square corner). The moat around three sides required enemies to approach under defensive fire from multiple angles simultaneously.

The outer walls are among the thickest in the defensive system. The interior is a large open courtyard — effectively a parade ground — surrounded by arcaded storage galleries and accommodation for the garrison.

The fortress was designed specifically to be defensible independently of the main city walls. Even if the walls were breached, Revelin could hold as a final redoubt protecting the eastern gate.

Today: events and exhibitions

Fort Revelin today is one of Dubrovnik’s main cultural event venues. The large interior hall — covered with a modern roof while preserving the historic walls — hosts:

• Club Revelin: Dubrovnik’s highest-profile nightclub, operating during summer in the fortress courtyard. Incongruous but popular.
• Cultural exhibitions: Temporary art and historical exhibitions use the fortress spaces year-round.
• Dubrovnik Summer Festival: Revelin is one of the festival’s outdoor performance venues in July–August.

The fortress is included in the Dubrovnik Pass for standard daytime visits.

Bokar Tower: the southwestern sentinel

Position and function

Bokar Tower (Tvrđava Bokar) stands at the extreme southwestern corner of the city walls, where the walls turn from the western face to the southern sea walls. Its position is visually dramatic: directly facing Lovrijenac fortress across the narrow channel between the cliff and the walls, the two structures form a pincer controlling the sea passage into the harbour from the west.

Any ship approaching Dubrovnik from the west had to pass between Lovrijenac and Bokar — under fire from both simultaneously. This two-fortress crossfire system was the standard for well-defended Adriatic harbours and was explicitly designed into Ragusa’s defensive works in the 15th century.

Construction and design

Bokar was built in the early 15th century, with Michelozzo Michelozzi credited with some of the refinements during his time in Ragusa in the 1460s. It is a circular tower — the original medieval form chosen for the southwestern angle before Renaissance angular bastion theory became standard. The thickness of its walls and the size of its gun embrasures reveal the evolution of artillery tactics over the period of its construction.

The tower is integral to the city walls circuit — you walk along the wall above and immediately adjacent to Bokar on the southwestern section of the walk. From the walls at this point, the view back to Lovrijenac (framed through the embrasures) is one of the most photogenic in the entire circuit.

Current access

The tower’s interior is not regularly open for independent visitors but is accessible during specific events and exhibitions. Walking the city walls circuit gives you the exterior view and the walls section adjacent to the tower. The guided city walls walk covers Bokar’s role in the defensive system in detail as you pass — it’s one of the points where a guide most adds value over self-guided walking.

The defensive system as a whole

Viewing Revelin and Bokar alongside Minčeta and Lovrijenac, the genius of Ragusa’s fortifications becomes clear. The system was designed with depth: outer fortresses (Lovrijenac, Revelin) absorbed the first attack, the main walls provided the second line, and interior secondary walls in key sections provided a third. No single breach was fatal because every section of the perimeter was backed by another layer.

The financing of this system tells its own story. Ragusan citizens were taxed; revenues from the city’s extensive trading network funded construction; the entire nobility was required to contribute. The walls were quite literally the material expression of the city-state’s survival imperative. This history is explored in the Republic of Ragusa guide.

The city walls and old town combo tour gives you both the fortifications and the civic monuments that the fortifications protected — a pairing that makes the full picture legible.

Practical information

Fort Revelin: East of Ploče gate. Open daily (hours vary by season); included in Dubrovnik Pass. Check current hours at the Dubrovnik Museums website.

Bokar Tower: On the southwestern walls circuit; viewed from the city walls walk (€35 city walls ticket). Interior accessibility varies — check on arrival.

Getting there: Both are reachable on foot from the old town. Revelin is a 10-minute walk east from Luža Square; Bokar is encountered during the city walls circuit from Pile gate.

Frequently asked questions about Fort Revelin and Bokar

Is Fort Revelin worth visiting separately from the city walls?

If you have an interest in military architecture or the history of the Republic of Ragusa, yes. The scale of the construction and the engineering intelligence behind it become clearer inside than from outside. The Dubrovnik Pass makes the marginal cost of adding Revelin to a city walls visit effectively zero.

Where is the best view of Bokar Tower?

From Lovrijenac fortress directly across the channel, you can see Bokar Tower in context as half of the western harbour defence system. The combination of the two towers flanking the sea entrance is the image that most clearly explains the defensive strategy. Alternatively, from a boat or sea kayak passing through the channel, the view of both fortresses simultaneously is spectacular.

Did Ragusa ever need these fortresses in combat?

Dubrovnik was never successfully besieged during the republic’s 450-year history, which is testament to both the fortifications and the city-state’s sophisticated diplomacy (paying tribute to both the Ottoman Empire and Habsburg Austria simultaneously). The fortresses were tested by the earthquake of 1667 and by the 1991–92 shelling but were not used in a major siege. The homeland war siege guide covers the 1991–92 damage to the fortifications.

How do I combine Revelin and Bokar with the full walls walk?

The city walls circuit naturally passes Bokar (southwest section) and brings you to the Ploče gate area near Revelin (northeast section). Do the walls circuit, then walk out through Ploče gate to see Revelin from the outside; for interior access, the Dubrovnik Pass covers both. The walking itinerary gives you the old town monuments to complete a full day.