Fortress Sutvrac
About the place
On the highest elevation of the island is the Sutvrač fort from 1563, or kaštio as the locals call it. Due to the importance and wealth of Lopud as one of the centers of the Republic of Dubrovnik, this largest and most modern fortress on the Elaphite Islands was built. It offers an excellent view of the inhabited and uninhabited part of the island, and you can also see the other Elaphite islands, the mainland part of the Dubrovnik coast, and the hills of Rijeka Dubrovacka and Srđ. It was built as the main fort of the island alongside the former fort of the Franciscan monastery near the harbor and a dozen other smaller towers and was in operation until the beginning of the 19th century when it was disarmed.
Good to know
In old Dalmatian, and later in local Croatian, Sutvrač is the name of a saint who was known for healing, because Sutvrač is a holy healer, which means a holy doctor like St. Kuzma and Damjan. Well, it is worth seeing who is the patron saint of that fortress, i.e. the settlement under the fortress.