The Klis Fortress is a medieval fortress situated above the village of Klis, near Split, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, to a role as royal castle and seat of many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe, Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times throughout its two-thousand-year-long history. Due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, the fortress served as a major source of defense in Dalmatia, especially against the Ottoman Empire. It has been a crossroad between the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans.
The fortress, pictured here from the south-west at late afternoon, stands atop a hill