The "History on a Grain of Salt" project involved the restoration of the unique cultural heritage sites in Ston, in the county of Dubrovnik-Neretva, in the Adriatic region of Croatia. This allowed the centuries-old Ston walls and fortifications to be developed and opened to the public and tourists.
- 10 April 2021
“The Dubrovnik Republic had the biggest profits from selling salt, that's why it put up these great walls, which are the longest in Europe.”
Cultural heritage sites – notably the fortress Koruna, fortress Great Kaštio, the south walls and Komarda Park – were rehabilitated or reconstructed. The project included the reconstruction of Napoleon Road in the municipality.
Though the Ston walls had a unique potential for intensive development of tourism, they were in poor physical condition and therefore inaccessible to tourists. The Bishop’s Palace, with Lapidarium, contains one of the richest collections of medieval art in southern Croatia.
14th century walls
The Ston walls and fortifications were built in the time of the Dubrovnik Republic, in the 14th century. The walls are 5.5 km long and include about 40 towers and five fortresses. The walls start with the Toljevac and the Koruna fortress and stretch over the hills and around the city of Ston, making them the longest in Europe and second-longest in the world.
The Republic of Dubrovnik acquired the Pelješac Peninsula in the 14th century. The walls were built to protect salt production and the peninsula, and were completed, with fortifications and watchtowers, in the 15th century.
Parts of the walls were destroyed when the Republic of Dubrovnik fell in the beginning of the 19th century. Further destruction followed as people started scavenging the structures for building material.
Oldest salt pans in Europe
The Ston salt pans are the oldest in Europe and the largest preserved pans in Mediterranean history.
For centuries, the Ston salt pans produced sea salt, which was the best-selling product of the Dubrovnik Republic.
Today, the Ston saltworks cover an area of about 450 000 m2 and produce about 2 000 tonnes of salt a year.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “History on a Grain of Salt” is EUR 8 112 690, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 4 284 837 through the “Competitiveness and Cohesion” Operational Programme for the 2014-2022 programming period.