Fort St John

Fort St John, known in Croatian as Tvrdava Sveti Ivan, stands at the southeastern corner of Dubrovnik's Old Port, beside the Old City's walls at Damjana Jude 2, in Croatia. It developed in stages from the 14th to the 16th century, when the Republic of Ragusa strengthened its harbour defences as part of a wider fortification programme. A chain could be stretched between the fort and a nearby boom position to close the port to hostile ships, and the lower level housed an arsenal and the harbour's guns. The fort is a compact structure of thick stone walls with a rounded tower and cannon openings facing the sea, and its upper terrace overlooks the harbour, the breakwater and Lokrum island. In the 20th century the lower floors held an aquarium, and the upper floors house the Maritime Museum of the Dubrovnik Museums. The Maritime Museum presents the history of the Ragusan fleet, shipbuilding, trade routes and navigation with ship models, flags, maps, instruments and paintings, arranged thematically and broadly chronologically. The aquarium, which has operated in the lower level, shows Adriatic marine life. Restoration after earthquake and wartime damage has kept the fabric in solid condition, and the structure now works as a combined museum and sea-gate viewpoint. Visitors enter from the Old Port side and climb internal stairs. The fort is closed on Wednesdays, and tickets can be combined with the Dubrovnik Museums multi-site pass.