Piran town walls are fortification walls built to protect the town of Piran

Piran

Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...

 in southwestern Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

.
Large parts of the fortification walls remain well-preserved up to now.

History

There were three walls built because of enlargement of the town. The first wall was built in the 7th century and it separated the town into four streets which were named by the entrances into the town: Miljska, Stolna, Osrednja (main) and Poljska. The first wall can be still seen today in the old part of the town. The wall was moving south-west when new streets appeared. The fortification wall which was built by southern coast of the town didn't change much since it was made.

In the final phases of enlargement between 1470 and 1533 the third fortification wall appeared that protected the whole peninsula, while in construction, The second wall appeared to protect the street Marčana.
The biggest part of the city wall appeared when use of gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 became frequent.
The third wall is almost completely intact. The northern part of the wall is completely accessible while the southern parts' floors and stairs are missing, or are being reconstructed. Between them is a gap where the wall collapsed and is now gone. A small portion of the third wall is also found next to the rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

, looking north. There is also a tower viewer

Tower viewer

A tower viewer is a telescope or binoculars permanently mounted on a stalk. The device magnifies objects seen through its lenses, allowing users to see farther and more clearly than they could with the naked eye or with less powerful viewing devices...

 located on one of the towers.

Present

Today seven city entrances remain preserved:

• gothic
  Gothic architecture
  Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
  
  -styled first Rašporska Vrata on the Rozman street.
• second Rašporska Vrata constructed in 1470 on the third wall with the seven towers.
• Renaissance
  Renaissance
  The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
  
  -styled Marčana city entrance constructed in 1534, part of the third wall.
• Miljska Vrata constructed in the 13th century, one of the oldest in town.
• Dolfinova Vrata, the best preserved gothic
  Gothic architecture
  Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
  
  doors in town, constructed in 1483 by mayor Dolfin.
• Poljska Vrata from the 15th century, once there was a church of Saint James nearby and connected to the Town Palace.
• Baročna Vrata svetega Jurija renovated in 1660.