| Cont inuing on our counterclockwise circuit of castles in Zadar County, Starigrad (“Old Town”) Vrana lies 11 kilometers south o f Benkovac via a secondary, but paved road. The modern day village of the same name surrounds the ancient, ruined, walled town. Much of the town walls remain, and the remains of a church are clearly discernable.
Vrana also has had a turbulent history. Originally it was a Roman settlement called Blandona. In the Middle Ages it was a Benedictine monastery, but the Holy See gave the town to the Templar knights in the 12th century. In 1312 Vrana came into the possession of the Templars’ rivals, the Knights Hospitaller, who served not only as combatants but also as medics in the Crusades. For two centuries Vrana’s prior was wealthy and influential, owning 40 other monasteries in the region. As with nearby towns, the Turks overran Vrana in the early 16th century. A Turkish military commander, one Alibeg Atlagić, re-fortified the town. When the Venetians captured Vrana and evicted the Turks in 1647, they destroyed much of the town’s fortifications. |