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Over the centuries, the Piran town walls were built in three different phases. The oldest part of the town centre is the Old Square, nowadays known as Trg 1. maja (1 May Square). It was surrounded by the town walls in the 7th century, with only four gates serving as entrances or exits from the town. After coming under Venetian rule, Piran experienced a new boom and expanded further from the bay, which was turned into a harbour. Since the new buildings were no longer protected by the original town walls, the walls were upgraded with the second part of the wall with three additional gates and two towers to protect the harbour. The last, third extension of the Piran town wall was made between the 15th and 16th century to protect the town from Turkish invasions. The wall ran along the hill to the east of the town centre and ended at the southern end by the sea.
The first references to the town of Piran date back to the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered the Istrian Peninsula, although we have no evidence of a dense settlement at that time on that location. It was only after the collapse of the Roman Empire at the end of the 5th century that mass settlement began. In the following two centuries, Piran became a fortified “castrum,” protected by a wall, nowadays considered to be Piran’s first town wall.
The central part of the original walled town is the Old Square or Trg 1. maja (1 May Square) as it is called today. The entry and exit points to the town were through four gates. Of these, Stolna vrata (the Church Gate) and Osrednja vrata (the Central Gate) have not been preserved, whilst Poljska vrata (the Field Gate) and Miljska vrata (the Muggia Gate) have both been preserved.
In the following centuries, maritime trade developed in the Adriatic Sea towns and Piran was no exception. Initially allied with the then maritime and trading power of the Venetian Republic, the town was able to shake off the rule of the feudal lords of the time. Its autonomy lasted until the end of the 12th century, when Piran came under direct Venetian rule.
At that time, further construction and settlement of the Piran Peninsula began. The bay was turned into a harbour and new buildings made it necessary to build a new wall to protect the newer part of the town. The second part of the town wall thus went all the way around the bay and ended with the towers at the entrance to the harbour.
The gates that constituted entry points to the town were Vrata pri svetem Frančišku (the St Francis Gate, not preserved), Prva Rašporska vrata (the First Raspor Gate) and Vrata svetega Jurija (the St George Gate). The second town wall did not (yet) protect the Cerkev svetega Jurija (the Church of St George), Samostan svetega Frančiška (the Monastery of St Francis) or the settlement of Marciano.
The final, third phase of the construction of the Piran town walls began in the second half of the 15th century, when Turkish invasions were becoming a more pressing threat. By then, the entire peninsula had been covered by the walls and eight defensive towers had been built.
It is the remains of the third construction of the wall, located on the slope of Mongron, that have the most important historical value for the town of Piran, as they beautifully complete the old town centre and form an invaluable part of the world-famous image of Piran.
Despite the clear danger, Piran was never besieged by Turkish invaders. As the security situation eased over time, its town walls began to lose their original significance and the town began to expand beyond its town walls. Due to the high maintenance costs, the authorities of the time even considered demolishing the town walls. Luckily, this did not happen and the town walls were gradually integrated into the town’s infrastructural projects. To date, more than 300 metres of the original town walls have been preserved, with 13 towers and 7 town gates, which were once the only entrances to the town. In addition, many sections have been preserved and closely integrated into the more modern infrastructure of the town of Piran.
The city walls of Piran began to be built in the 7th century and were changed and completed for almost the next 800 years. The best-preserved part of the wall is open to visitors today and represents one of the most attractive tourist spots in Piran.
