BADANJ FORT

Located in the immediate vicinity of Crikvenica, Badanj Fort is the oldest surviving medieval fortification in the Vinodol region. We do not know the original name of the fort, which was abandoned after a major earthquake in the 14th century. A part of military crew probably relocated to the nearby village of Kostelj, and the control of the mouth of the Dubračina River was taken over by ancient Kotor. The fort has an irregular circular shape and consists of a spacious central tower with quarters for the garrison and also a water reservoir. Along the winding access path, there is a substructure with a row of rectangular houses. Archaeological finds of ancient bricks built into the walls of Badanj suggest that the core of the fort was built in the Early Byzantine period between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. At the foot of Badanj, above the left shore of Dubračina, there are the ruins of the small Church of the Holy Spirit, which dates back to the 12th century and was renovated in the 15th. Next to the church, there is a medieval cemetery, which was established after the old Croatian cemetery on the hill of Gorica in the village of Stranče was abandoned.

The legend of Badanj is related to the legend of a buried treasure guarded by a large snake. The Croats who arrived here heard this legend from people who inhabited this area in the past. The snake is an ancient Mediterranean divine symbol, and legends of buried treasure are common in the areas of the Crikvenica Riviera and Vinodol.