The walls of Ston are unmissable, literally unmissable, after the Great Wall of China they are the second longest defensive walls in the world. Ston is your destination, around an hour’s drive from Dubrovnik. A great destination for history lovers and gastro lovers, some of the best restaurants in the region are in Ston, don’t forget to try the oysters.

In 1333 the Republic of Dubrovnik bought the Pelješac peninsular from the Serbian Emperor Dušan. To keep their new property, the citizens of Dubrovnik immediately planned the construction of special fortifications in Ston and Mali Ston that both defended the towns and the peninsular of Pelješac.

The walls of Ston are the largest construction venture outside the Republic of Dubrovnik. They consist of walls of Ston and Mali Ston, the Great Wall, the three fortresses, ten circular, thirty-one square towers and a square and six semi-circular bastions. The height of the walls is between 5 and 10 metres. Today around four and a half kilometres in length they connect Ston and Mali Ston and are one of the longest fortification systems in Europe.

The walls of Ston were a massive architecture and construction feat. Originally 7000-meters long (22 965 ft.), they consist of several parts; the Stone city walls, the Mali Ston city walls and the Big wall with its three forts. Its forts and towers are strengthened by 10 round and 31 square flanking towers and 6 semi-circular bastions. It took almost four centuries to finish these complex defence walls, as the builders had to adapt to the rough terrain and advancements in warfare technology.

The walls were last used for defence in the 19th century, and today they are a priceless monument of immense architectural and cultural value. The association of friends of Dubrovnik antiquities, since their establishment in 1952, care for Dubrovnik, Molunat, Cavtat and Ston walls and the town of Sokol in Konavle.

Profits from ticket sales on the Dubrovnik city walls are mostly used for the maintenance and systematic renewal of the walls, in a kind of self-financing way.