Our Lady`s battery was built in 1841 in the very center of St. George’s Bay, at a location known as Levaman, serving as the city’s main fortification during the Austrian administration (1815-1918). The Battery represents the pinnacle of Austrian engineering on the island, and its preserved state testifies to the quality of its construction and continuous use. It is situated at the very end of the bay, between two historic Vis settlements, Luka to the west and Kut to the east.
The fortress is entered from the east, across the former wooden drawbridge, into a spacious inner courtyard. Above the entrance to the courtyard, there is a damaged marble plaque with the inscription Batteria della Madonna anno MDCCCXLI. To the south is the main building, which housed the command, soldiers, and officers, while to the north is a high bastion with sloping walls surrounded by a deep moat. The bastion held eight cannons facing the sea, and the space within it served as a warehouse and dungeon.
The Battery played a significant role in the Battle of Vis, specifically on July 19, 1866, when the Italian ironclad Formidabile entered Vis harbor. The ship’s commander, Saint Bon, initiated a battle with the fortress, ultimately losing many sailors, and the ship caught fire, leading the Italians to withdraw from the fight. Thus, the Battery secured Vis harbor and prevented further attacks, and the three-day battle ended with an Austrian victory. After the Battle of Vis, the fortress was demilitarized and primarily used for civilian purposes (accommodation for the elderly and infirm, municipal poorhouse, kindergarten, war hospital, high school), until World War II when the Italians used it for military purposes, mainly as a warehouse.
The Battery played a significant role in the Battle of Vis, specifically on July 19, 1866, when the Italian ironclad Formidabile entered Vis harbor. The ship’s commander, Saint Bon, initiated a battle with the fortress, ultimately losing many sailors, and the ship caught fire, leading the Italians to withdraw from the fight. Thus, the Battery secured Vis harbor and prevented further attacks, and the three-day battle ended with an Austrian victory. After the Battle of Vis, the fortress was demilitarized and primarily used for civilian purposes (accommodation for the elderly and infirm, municipal poorhouse, kindergarten, war hospital, high school), until World War II when the Italians used it for military purposes, mainly as a warehouse.
Almost a hundred years after the Battle of Vis, the Battery gained a museological function when, in 1964, the Memorial Museum of the Supreme Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia and the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia was founded as part of the Museum of the Revolution of the Peoples of Croatia, later becoming the Croatian History Museum.
Since 1983, the Issa Archaeological Collection has been located on the upper floor of the Battery, operating as a regional collection of the Archaeological Museum in Split. Since 1989, the bastion has housed an ancient collection of amphorae from the Vela Svitnja site. Additionally, in 1994, a collection of ethnographic objects was donated. Since 2005, the museum premises, museum artifacts, the Auxiliary Collection, and the Issa site have been transferred to the Archaeological Museum in Split.
Finally, in 2023, Municipal Heritage Museum of Vis was founded, commencing operations on January 1, 2025. The hydro-archaeological collection exhibit was reopened, and additional space for exhibition activities was arranged. The museum actively works on collecting and documenting museum artifacts, conserving and restoring items from the former Memorial Collection exhibit, conducting archaeological excavations and topographical research of the island, organizing educational lectures, and exhibition activities.
