The Croatian Maritime Museum was founded by Split city council in 1997. Its rich and extensive historic collections were drawn from the Split Maritime Museum, founded in 1925, and the Military Maritime Museum founded in 1962, and several associated maritime heritage collections including marine archaeological finds and artefacts from Brodosplit Museum situated in Split’s shipyard.The museum researches, acquires, archives and exhibits artefacts and documents relating to the maritime heritage of the Adriatic coast from prehistory to modern times. It is situated in the 17th-century Gripe Fortress – the only fully preserved fortified building in Split.The fortress courtyard provides an exhibition space for the larger exhibits in the museum collection. These include the vessel ‘Bakar’, the bow of which dominates the courtyard, and ‘Perina’, a traditional Dalmatian ‘gajeta’, or fishing boat, and one of the oldest surviving vessels on the east Adriatic coast. Built in 1857, it represents centuries of local sailing knowledge and tradition and is one of seven important historic vessels on display.