Category Archives: Fortress

Golubac Fortress, Serbia

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, civilization, Fortress, History, Serbia

 

After lunch on the boat, we travelled by bus to the Golubac Fortress, which was built on the south (Serbian) side of the Danube River. The fortress was built during the 14th century by the Medieval State of Serbia at the time when firearms advanced significantly and fortresses had to be changed. Like so much in the Balkans it had a tumultuous history.

 

Before it was built it was the site of a Roman settlement which was frequently fought over in the Middle Ages. In particular, the Ottoman Empire of the Turks frequently fought for control of the area with the Kingdom of Hungary. What were they fighting over?  The right to levy taxes on the Danube River traffic. It was passed between Turks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Serbs, and Austrians until 1867 when it was turned over to the Serbs. Now, of course, it is the site of popular tourist attractions such as the fortress, but during its long history it successfully repelled 120 attacks.  That number tells a big story. European civilization was so often a place of wars. Wars over politics or religion or both. I remember years ago, when we visited New Zealand and one of the fellow guests at the place we stayed opined how lucky the locals were to have Europeans to bring civilization to the natives. Is that really civilization?

The name of the fortress and the modern town in its vicinity can be translated as the “Pigeon city” or the “Dove city” (golub, “pigeon”).  Some claim the name refers to the towers of the fortress that aim for the skies, like pigeons. Others say it was named after a beautiful girl Golubana who was fought over by a local Turkish pasha and a young Serbian man.

 

Fire arms were used from the first half of the 14th century but they had only a modest killing power so were used mainly to frighten the inexperienced. They were used to make a lot of noise in the hopes of eliciting panic and confusion in the ranks of the enemies. Of course, improvements made them more effective as well. Technological advances are always critical to military success in battle.

 

A big change came with advances to cannons in the 15th century. The architecture of fortresses had to change to make the walls more secure and add hole to use cannons against aggressors. Cannon towers were built as could be seen at the fortress here. Numerous cannonballs were found in the fortress. Fragments of barrels of cannons were also discovered.

Changes in firepower meant changes to the castle defences were required.

The western side of the castle was the most exposed to attack so a moat was built around the castle. But it never contained alligators. In the 15th century it had to be strengthened to be able to repeal modern, at the time, cannonballs. The towers were all walled for that purpose. Of course, they also had to make cannon holes in the walls so that cannonballs could be fired from inside the fortress upon the hapless invaders.

 

The position of the fortress made it very difficult to attack and allowed food to be brought in from the Danube River. It could really only be attacked from the west side and the river both of which exposed the attackers to weapons from inside the castle like bows and arrows, crossbows, catapults, or cannonballs.

 

Heavily armoured horsemen were the most powerful military force in the Middle Ages. A variety of other weapons were used to attack horsemen including maces, battle axes, swords hammers, clubs, battle scythes, and hooks. Because they were so heavy and bulky the mace could only be used by very powerful warriors. Lances and long spears were used for close combat. The infantry and cavalry used lances and long spears when attacking the horsemen. After breaking through the enemy’s line, the strategy was to toss the lances and spears and fight with swords.

The sword was the leading Medieval cold weapon and they kept getting “better” and more effective.  Better at killing in other words. Sort of like Modern nuclear weapons are even better than ancient cannonballs. In the late Middle Ages, the long and heavy swords were the weapon of choice and the swords could be double edged with extended handles that allowed them to be used with both hands to maximize the damage.  Maximizing the damage was always the goal. Armour was also important and kept having to be constantly improved to keep up with improvements to the swords. The Middle Ages had arms races just like modern armies.

That’s what civilization is all about.

 

Iron Gates Gorge Serbia

Fortress, Serbia, Travel

 

One morning in Serbia, after breakfast, we did not go on an excursion as we usually did. Instead, we went sight-seeing by our big riverboat. Sadly, the photographs I took that morning have disappeared out of my camera and off the hard drive to which I had loaded them and it appeared, off face of the earth. Vanished just like sanity in the Congress of the United States of America. And I was sad. In the afternoon, using the same memory card, camera, and computer everything was in order. Why was that? I had no idea.

The photo above was taken later that afternoon. The fortress is called Golubac Castle and it guards the Iron Gates Gorge. I will say more about it in the next post.

 

We were in the region of the Danube referred to as Iron Gates Gorge. It is really a series of gorges.  The biggest is Đerdap on the Serbian side of the Danube River. It was spectacular. The gorges form the boundary between Serbia to the south and Romania to the north.

 

It encompasses a route of 134 km (83 mi) but is really just the last barrier on the route. It has 2 hydro-electric dams and 2 power stations. On the Romanian side it constitutes Đerdap National Park and Iron Gates National Park on the Romanian side. A wider protected area was declared on the Serbian side and declared a UNESCO global geopark in 2020.

 

The hydro-electric dams have created a massive reservoir that led to the forced displacement of approximately 17,000 people from both Romania and Yugoslavia, including the inhabitants of the island of Ada Kaleh and at least five other villages in Romania. The affected populations had to relocate to new areas, and their former settlements were submerged by the rising water levels. This also caused massive anxiety among the people moved which we were told still affects them 5 decades later.

 

Kazan gorge is found at its narrowest point. The currents where the gorge narrows, such as in the Sip Channel were so strong that until 1973, ships had to be dragged upstream along the canal by locomotive power guided by locals. The Great Kazan (kazan meaning “cauldron” or “reservoir”) is the most famous and the most narrow gorge of the whole route: the river here narrows to 150 m and reaches a depth of up to 53 m (174 ft). This quite impressive considering that this year where we embarked on our cruise the water depth was a mere 1.5 metres, too shallow for most vessels.

 

Nearby is the Tabula Traiana or Trajan’s Plaque which is a Roman memorial plaque found on the Serbian side of the Iron Gates. The plaque was erected by Roman Emperor Trajan to commemorate the completion of his military road along the Danube. It was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979 and is protected by the Republic of Serbia.

 

The plaque and the accompanying Roman road were constructed between AD 98 and 100. At its peak, the road was an engineering marvel that was partly carved into the cliff faces and supported by a wooden scaffold over the water. The monument was relocated in 1972 when the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station was built, raising the water level of the Danube by about 35 meters.

Baba Vida Fortress

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Fortress

 

 

When we were in Vidin Bulgaria, we were brought to Baba Vida a medieval castle right in the town. It was the town’s primary landmark. It consists of two concentric curtain walls and 9 towers of which three are preserved to their full medieval height, including the original battlements. It is the only entirely preserved medieval castle in Bulgaria. I am not sure why but there is no water in the moat now, though historically it was filled with water.

 

Construction began on the castle in the 10th century A.D. on the site of an earlier Roman castle at Bononia. This castle, like Bran castle has attracted a legend, or should we say conspiracy theory. According to legend, a Danubian Bulgarian king who ruled at Vidin had three daughters: Vida, Kula and Gamza. Prior to his death, he divided his realm among the three daughters. Vida, the eldest, was given Vidin and the lands north to the Carpathians while Kula was awarded Zajecar and the Timok Valley and the third daughter Gamza was given the land to the west up to Morava. Both Gamza and Kula did not marry wisely. They married drunken bums who had a nasty proclivity for war. The name of Vida’s castle is Baba Vida, which as anyone who knows a little bit of Ukrainian knows means Granny Vida.

So this is the castle that has survived. It was the main defensive fortress of Bulgaria during all of the Middle Ages. The castle withstood an 8-month siege by Byzantine forces led by Basil II.  During the rule of Tsar Ivan Sratsimir (1356-1369) it was modernized and enlarged and served as his capital. The Hungarians took it over, by force of course, from 1365 to 1369, so their reign was brief. Ivan Sratsimir regained it in 1369 but Hungarians still ruled. In time of course, the Ottomans took control during their reign which lasted about 500 years.

 

In the town of Vidin, we learned as we drove through it on our bus, that only 18 Jews are left in the city, even though there was a very large synagogue. It was built years ago when there were many Jews in the city. As we know, many Jews were murdered during the Second World War when Bulgaria was occupied by Nazi Germany. Many had to flee or were captured and sent to concentration camps. No one talked about the concentration camps but I did find out about them. More on that later.

 

Our local guide was very proud that the synagogue was now a cultural centre. She was also proud that now within the city in about 1 small block, there was a mosque, a church, and a synagogue and all the people from all 3 religions now got along well. Apparently, their religious leaders frequently meet to have coffee together and discuss issues of the day. In Vidin now there is tolerance and pluralism. People believe in the idea of “live and let live.”  Each community is free to worship as they see fit without any harassment from any other religion.

That’s the way it is now, but it was not always like that. More on that later.

 

Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of the Lord in Veliko Târnovo

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Churches, Fortress

 

 

While in Bulgaria, we visited the spectacular Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of the Lord. That is quite a handle. It is a former Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Veliko Tarnovo. This city has been called the “City of Tsars” and was the capital of Bulgaria during the Second Bulgarian Empire from the 12th to the 14th centuries. It is located on a top of a fortress, or fortified hill. I found it very telling on this trip how often churches were part of fortresses. It told me how often wars were religious wars.

The cathedral was the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch from the time it was built in the 11th and 12th centuries to the time it was destroyed in 1393 by the Ottoman Turks. It stands on top of a late Roman church that was built in the 5th and 6th centuries. Even Christian churches used predecessor churches for building materials. The church was reconstructed in the 1970s and 1980s.

It follows a cross-domed plan with a bell tower and triple apse. Both the interior and exterior are richly decorated. In the Balkans people don’t spare the cash when it comes to churches, unlike how Mennonites used to do it.

Its internal walls are now filled with modern frescoes, which I learned meant that it has not been reconsecrated. It is not an active Christian church. I think that means it has been built for tourists who come here and take a lot of photographs. Built for people like me. It has been opened for visitors—paying visitors—since 1985.

The original church was built to be part of a monastery. The fact that the church contains relics of a warrior saint signifies the constant warfare between the Romans (Latins) and Byzantines (Orthodox).  Yes, Christians fought each other too.

 

The original Patriarchal Cathedral was destroyed after the Ottomans captured the Bulgarian capital during the siege of Tarnovo on July 17 1393.

 

 

Belogradchik Fortress

2025 Cruise up the Danube River, Fortress

 

 

 

We had a lovely visit to a special place, namely Belogradchik Bulgaria. “Belogradchik” means Small White Town and is found in Vidin province in the northwest part of Bulgaria and about 50 km south of the Danube River. It is just east of the Serbian border. It has a population of about 5,000 people. It is most famous for its fortress amid the Belogradchik rocks which provide its sensational setting. Frankly, the rocks reminded me of the Superstition Mountains of souther Arizona.

 

Belogradchik Fortress, also known as Kaleto, which comes from the Turkish word kale is a very old fortress on the north slopes of the Balkan Mountains. It was built by the Romans in the 3rd  century AD. Naturally, it has become a famous tourist attraction drawing tourists from as far away as Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance.

 

The fortress’s walls are more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) thick in the foundation and reach up to 12 m (39 ft) in height. It consists of 3 separate fortified yards connected with each other through gates. The fortress has a total area of 10,210 square metres (109,900 sq ft). The Belogradchik Fortress was reconstructed to later become a proclaimed cultural monument.

 

The fortress was originally built by the Romans during its empire to defend its northern border from the ugly hordes. It uses the natural rock walls as part of the fortress together with fortified stone walls. The yard is beautifully surrounded by rocks. The rocks are up to 70 m high (230 ft.). At first its primary task was to serve as a means of surveillance and not so much defense. Fortified garrisons were added in the 14th century. Of all the castles in Bulgaria, it was only secondary in importance to the fortress of Baba in Vidin which we saw later in the day.

 

The fortress was captured by the Ottomans in 1393. Many changes were made to the fort in the 19th century by the Ottomans but has European elements because the engineers were French and Italian. There was some globalization even then.

 

An important part of the splendor of the fortress is of course the surrounding rocks. Those rocks are of course bit older than the fortress. The rocks were formed 230 million years ago, when this land was located at the bottom of a shallow sea. Sedimentary rocks consisting of limestone components were created by the forces of weight and subsequent erosion. Much later a crack appeared in the sea bottom and water drained out to the red sea revealing the beautiful  red and orange rocks and 20 centuries of history in the Balkan Mountains.

 

On our walk up the hill, I noticed a man slip down and fall right in front of me on the trail up to the fort. I must mention that falls were a big part of this trip. Our tour director kept warning us to watch our step but that did not help. Frankly, many of the sites were not very safe.  I heeded his advice and did not walk all the way up. Later I regretted that decision because I did not see the fortress from the inside nestled against the big rocks.  Perhaps I was too cautious. I was disappointed how little people in the Balkans soften the hurdles to seeing the sites and failed to provide railings or adequate steps. As a result sliding and slipping on the rocks was a bit treacherous. So I only walked part way up. Now I wonder if I gave up to easily.