Kluže Fortress stands at the top of a narrow canyon between the slopes of Rombon and Izgora, which is shaped by the Koritnica River north of Bovec.

It was erected as a control post at the crossing of the river.

The time of origin of the older fortress at this site is not known, but a wooden building stood there already in the second half of the 15th century to defend the Friuli Plain and the Venetian Republic against the Turks.

In the year 1509 the Austrians built new walls.
The fortress was probably renewed and expanded after the earthquake of 1511.

Rebuilding in the second half of the 17th century turned it into a more pleasant residence.

In 1797 the French army burnt down and destroyed the medieval fortress.

The new, present fortress was built on the same pass over the river in the years 1881-1882.

Above Kluže an additional upper fortress, Fort Hermann, was built in 1906.
Only the ruins of this upper fortress remain as it was destroyed by cannon grenades in 1915.

In the lower part of the mull track which leads to the upper fortress, a tunnel was dug where there was a cannon nest with three loopholes during World War I.

The lower fortress stood more in the shelter and so it survived the storms of war.
It was used for placing new recruits immediately behind the front line.

The core of the fortress has a ground plan the shape of a rounded square.
Two sides are enclosed by one-floor stone fortress buildings with underground residential and additional areas.
The side by the road is closed off by the lower tract, and the fourth side is formed as the fortress wall.

In the outer walls the fortress has funnel-shaped loopholes.
In the inner walls, turned toward the yard, the openings are larger.

After World War II the fortress lost its strategic importance and therefore fell into disrepair.

Since 1987 it has been continuously renovated.

Inside there is a smaller tourist office, a presentation of the history of the fortress and its surroundings, a local painting gallery and a wedding hall.

In the fortress Kluže re-enactments with soldiers in uniforms and with the equipment from the period of World War I are regularly performed.