The Walls of Ston

Ston stands where the Pelješac peninsula joins the mainland, and the Republic of Ragusa walled the whole neck to protect what it valued there, which was salt. Building began in the fourteenth century and produced a chain of wall and towers running from Ston over the hill to Mali Ston on the far shore, one of the longest defensive walls in Europe. Much of it has been restored and a long stretch can be walked, steeply, with the salt pans on one side and the bay on the other. The pans below are still worked by hand in their old rectangular basins, and the bay at Mali Ston is known for oysters and mussels.

History

Ragusa bought Pelješac and Ston in 1333 from the Serbian Empire, and in 1358 began walling the narrow neck where the peninsula joins the mainland, to protect the salt pans that were a mainstay of its wealth and are still worked. Completed in the 15th century, the system had more than 7 kilometres of wall, 40 towers, of which 20 survive, and 5 fortresses: Veliki Kaštio in Ston, Koruna in Mali Ston and the fort on Podzvizd hill, 224 metres up. Michelozzo, Bernardino Gatti of Parma and Juraj Dalmatinac worked on it, and Ston itself was laid out on Dubrovnik's model in fifteen equal blocks; the Field Gate carries a Latin inscription of 1506. After the fall of the Republic demolition began: the Austrian authorities took stone for schools and public buildings and for a triumphal arch for the emperor's visit in 1884, and the wall round Mali Ston was pulled down on the excuse that it harmed people's health, until the demolition was stopped after the Second World War. Some 5.5 kilometres remain, among the longest fortifications preserved anywhere (Wikipedia, Walls of Ston).

What's there

• The wall walk - a stepped climb over the ridge between Ston and Mali Ston, with towers along the way.
• The salt pans - rectangular evaporation basins below the walls, still harvested by hand in summer.
• Mali Ston - the small port at the far end, with oyster and mussel beds out in the bay.
• Ston's old town - a grid of stone streets laid out inside the walls by the Ragusan republic.

When to go

Spring and autumn. The walls are open stone with no shade, and the climb at noon in July is genuinely punishing. Early morning or the last two hours before closing are the sensible windows. Salt harvesting happens in high summer. Oysters are eaten here year-round but are best outside the spawning months.

Good to know

The walk is steep, stepped and uneven, and one long section is a continuous climb with nothing to hold on to. Only part of the full circuit is restored and open. The ticket price has risen sharply in recent years. Ston itself is small and fills quickly when coaches stop between Dubrovnik and the peninsula, usually late morning.

Nearby

The Pelješac vineyards run up the peninsula, and Dubrovnik is about an hour to the south.

Key facts