Dubrovnik, walls and… balls?
Considered to be one of the most impressive series of defensive stone walls still standing in the world, the main landmark of Dubrovnik is a complex system consisting of forts, bastions, casemates, towers and detached forts. Encompassing the Old Town and creating an irregularly shaped polygon, the walls are reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers, five bastions, two angular fortifications and the St. John’s Fortress.
As you walk the length of the impressive City Walls and are nearing the end of a two hour walk; climbing the round Minčeta Tower provides some of the most spectacular views of the Old Town which are not to be missed. Below the Minčeta Tower is a basketball court dubbed as one of the strangest courts in the world because of its irregular shape and location.
But what’s the story behind this basketball court that was also posted on 9gag prompting numerous questions about its functionality?
During the Austrian occupation of Dubrovnik that began in 1908, following the fall of French military and after Napoleon abolished the Republic of Dubrovnik’s government and senate, the Austrian army officers who were stationed in the city had made the tennis courts in the City wall trench in order to spend their leisure time there.
