Location: Stari Grad (Belgrade) Map
Constructed: 535
Kalemegdan Castle or Belgrade Fortress is located in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Although its initial construction date back to 535 AD it was constantly expanded and improved to meet the needs of ever changing military fortifications. Kalemegdan Fortress kept a strategic location overlooking confluence of Danube and Sava rivers.
The fortress is located at the top of the 125.5 m high final ridge of
the Šumadija geological plate. The cliffs of the ridge face the Great
War Island and the confluence of the Sava River and the Danube. It is
surrounded by three streets: Bulevar Petra Bojovića, Ulica Tadeuša
Košćuška and Pariska ulica.
The appearance of the fortress
The
base of the fortress consists of two parts:
Upper town - includes the
plateau of the former Roman castrum, the Byzantine castle or the
Despot's city and artillery extensions to the mainland to the south and
east.
Lower town - includes Milutin's Western suburbs and Despot's
suburbs on the coast, artillery extension to the east.
Strategic
position of the fortress
The Belgrade Fortress, and thus Belgrade
itself, has a very important strategic position within the whole of
Southeast Europe. It is located on the border of the Pannonian Plain and
the Balkan Peninsula and is a crossroads of roads that have long
connected Constantinople (Via Militaris) and Thessaloniki (Via Egnatia)
with the interior of the European continent. In addition to the land
roads that connect at that place, it also crosses waterways embodied in
the Sava and especially the Danube, which is the most important European
river.
In the local sense, the fortress is located at the end of
the ridge plateau, which descends steeply towards the confluence of the
Sava and the Danube. In that way, the rivers were prevented from
accessing the fortress from the north and east by the Danube and the
west by the Sava.
The past of the Belgrade Fortress
Temporary
camp
The strategic position of the Belgrade Fortress was used in the
Neolithic and Eneolithic, but in addition to that, the Celtic city
developed in the area of today's Karaburma, around the Rospa Bridge.
The arrival of the Romans in this area brings the Terazije plateau back
to the center of attention. It is assumed that legions (IV Scithica and
V Macedonica) were stationed in the area of Singidunum at the
beginning of the 1st century, but for now, there is no archaeological
confirmation of that. Domitian's (81-96) division of Moesia in 86 into
the Upper and Lower, brings to this region from Dalmatia the IV Flavia
Legion. It is not known where it was originally stationed (perhaps in
Magrum), but it is certain that it was permanently housed in Singidunum
after the end of the Dacian Wars in the early 2nd century.
At
that time, a temporary military camp was built of earthen ramparts and
wooden palisades surrounded by a moat. For a long time, it was
considered that it was located in the area of today's Upper Town, but
there was no confirmation of that in archeological research. Discoveries
from the end of the 20th century (made in 1997) opened the possibility
that it was actually located on the stretch from today's Republic Square
(National Museum and Theater) to Kolarac's endowment and Student Park,
bordered by today's streets of Prince Mihajlo and Braće Jugović.
Although this hypothesis has not yet been fully confirmed, today it is
considered that the temporary camp was most likely located in that area.
Based on this assumption, it is estimated that it had a rectangular base
whose maximum dimensions could be 200 m x 400 m.
Roman castrum
Traces of settlements in the area of the Belgrade Fortress date back
to the Neolithic, so that in the Celtic era, a real city called
Singidunum developed in the area of today's Karaburma.
The
oldest fortification on the site of today's Belgrade Fortress was
probably built between the 6th and 11th years of AD. e. at a time when
barbarian tribes were beginning to threaten the northern borders of the
Roman Empire. At that time, a fortification made of earthen ramparts and
palisades was built on the plateau from the National Museum and Theater
to the Student Park, which later, most probably in the 2nd century, grew
into a classic Roman castrum which was an integral part of the famous
limes. Kastrum had a rectangular base measuring 560m by 350m and
included today's Upper Town with part of Kalemegdan Park to today's
Paris Street. During the first centuries of the new era, it was the
permanent seat of Flavius IV's legion. After the division of the Roman
Empire in 395, the fortress became part of the Eastern Roman Empire
under the name Singidon, and in 441 it was destroyed in a great attack
by the Huns. King Theodoric the Great of Ostrogoths conquered it in 471,
and left it in 498 during the migration of Ostrogoths to the Apennine
Peninsula.
Late antique or early Byzantine fortification
The fortress was
rebuilt and strengthened a little before 535 during the reign of the
Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527-565). On that occasion, its surface
was most likely reduced to the rectangular space of today's Upper Town.
During the Slavic settlement on the Balkan Peninsula, Serbs settled
around it. The fortress was destroyed by Aubrey in the 8th century,
after which it was abandoned for some time.
Medieval fortress
It is not known for sure when the ramparts and life in the Belgrade
Fortress were restored, but it is certain that there was a fortified
settlement in the middle of the 9th century. It most probably included
the western corner of the former late antique fortification (the area of
the future Byzantine Castle and Despot's City) as a citadel fortified
with stone, while the rest of the former late antique fortification or
rectangular area of the Upper Town was surrounded by an earthen
rampart with a palisade in front of Belgrade. the fortress did not
differ much from most other fortifications in Europe at that time.
Archaeological remains of the trench were found in 2012.
The
early Byzantine (late antique) fortress was built of white stone that
shone from its elevated position above the Pannonian plain, which is why
the Serbs gave it the name White City or Belgrade, under which the
fortress and settlement were first mentioned on April 16, 878 in a
letter. Roman Patriarch John VIII addressed to the Bulgarian Khan Boris
(852-889).
For centuries, the fortress and the city were ruled by
Bulgarians, Byzantines and Hungarians, and in the 11th century it came
back into the hands of the Byzantine Empire after the collapse of
Samuel's Empire (1018). Since the city then became a protruding border
fortress of Byzantium, the former late antique ramparts were restored.
The Hungarians tried to capture the city in 1071, and in 1127 they
managed to capture the city for a short time, but since they were not
able to keep the city, they destroyed the fortification and used the
material obtained to fortify the Zemun City. During the reign of Manojl
Komnin (1143-1180), the Byzantines occupied Zemun, and the stone that
had crossed the Sava three decades earlier was returned and installed
back in the Belgrade Fortress, which in the period from 1151 to 1165 was
turned into a deltoid castle. about 135 m by about 60 m, located on the
site of a former citadel.
In 1183 or 1184, the city fell into the
hands of the Hungarians, who ruled it until the beginning of the 15th
century, with a small interruption from 1284. King Dragutin of Srem
(King of Serbia 1276-1282, King of Srem 1282-1316), and then his brother
Milutin (1282-1321), to be recaptured by the Hungarians in 1319. During
his reign, Milutin expanded the fortification to the west, lowering the
ramparts to the Sava (the so-called Western Suburbs). Serbian Tsar Dusan
(1331-1355) and later Prince Lazar (1371-1389) tried to capture the
fortress, but without success.
Belgrade Fortress in the time of
despot Stefan Lazarević
With the vassal agreement that the Serbian
despot Stefan Lazarević (1377—1427) concluded with the Hungarian king
Sigismund (1387—1437) in 1403, the Serbian despotate gained Belgrade and
some other areas. During his administration of the city, the fortress
destroyed by the Ottomans in 1397 was rebuilt and significantly expanded
in the period from 1403 to 1407 when the castle was rebuilt and turned
into the despot's fortified castle (1405), after which the Western
Suburbs were rebuilt. the Port of War was built. The works on the
expansion of the fortification lasted until the death of despot Stefan
in 1427, and since 1405 the capital of Serbia has been located in the
town itself, which had been in Kruševac until then (see City of Emperor
Lazar). During Stefan's reign the city was rebuilt:
Manojl's
castle which was turned into the despot's fortified castle with the
original Nebojsa tower as a dungeon (completed 1405)
Western Pograđe
which was strengthened and next to which the War Port was built
(completed in 1407), while as completely new parts of the fortress in
the period from 1407 to 1427, the following were built:
The Upper
City, which is surrounded by a system of double ramparts, such as the
low and last ramparts in the Constantinople ramparts of Theodosius
Deep dry trench in front of the Upper Town on the mainland
Donji Grad
with the City Port, the entrance to which was guarded by a tower that
was later converted into today's Nebojsa Tower
which increased
the area surrounded by ramparts tenfold in less than a quarter of a
century.
After Stefan's death, Belgrade was returned to the
Hungarians, who further strengthened it due to the growing danger from
the Ottomans, who besieged it three times:
1440 - First siege
under Murat II (1421-1451)
1456 - Second siege led by Mehmed II the
Conqueror (1451-1481) who captured Constantinople in 1453 and overthrew
Byzantium
1521 - the third siege under the leadership of Suleiman the
Magnificent (1520—1566) who occupied Belgrade on his march towards
Vienna (1529) across the Mohács field (1526).
During their rule, the
Hungarians added barbican in front of the main city gates, a protruding
part of the fortification in the east, and transformed today's Nebojsa
Tower into a typical artillery tower of that time.
Artillery fortification
The Austrians conquered the fortress in
1688 and began an extensive renovation and conversion from a medieval to
an artillery fortress. The work was entrusted to Andrej Kornar, who
mostly brought it to the end of 1696 under the Ottomans, who in the
meantime regained the city. On that occasion, during the bombing, a
gunpowder warehouse located in Despot's City was hit, which caused a big
explosion in which almost the entire Despot's City was destroyed.
However, Kornar's solutions were already outdated at that time, and due
to constant fights, they were never completely completed.
The
Austrians occupied Belgrade in 1717, and in the period from 1723 to
1736, the Swiss Nikola Mores von Doxat carried out major alterations and
additions to the fortress, which included the construction of additional
fortifications on the left banks of the Sava and Danube that would be
connected to the fortification. However, the fortress was returned to
the Ottomans without a fight by the Belgrade Peace Treaty of 1739, and
the Austrians were forced to demolish the newly built ramparts within
three (bastion route around the town) or six (fortifications within the
fortress) months. After the completion of these works, the city was
handed over to the Ottomans in June 1740. Due to the need to preserve
its northern borders, the Ottoman Empire had to rebuild and further
fortify the Belgrade Fortress, but due to the poor financial situation
in the empire, the renovation lasted over two decades and did not
introduce anything new.
In October 1789, the Belgrade Fortress
fell into Austrian hands again, but in 1791 it was returned to the
Ottomans according to the provisions of the Peace of Svishtov.
Serbian insurgents under Karadjordj conquered the fortress in 1807 and
it remained part of insurgent Serbia until the collapse of the First
Serbian Uprising in 1813. According to the agreement on the Ottoman
abandonment of Serbia, the keys to the Belgrade Fortress were
symbolically handed over to Prince Mihailo Obrenović (1839—1842,
1860—1868) on April 19, 1867. Immediately after this, the fortification
lost its military character, and from 1869, the entire area of the
former fortress and its surroundings began to turn into Kalemegdan Park.
The area of the fortress was damaged during the bombing during the
First World War, and on that occasion, almost all the buildings in its
interior were destroyed, and the ramparts themselves suffered severe
damage.
Before the construction of the Sava quay, the "first
ramparts - completely on the shore" were removed in the summer of 1936,
and the roundabout below the Lower Town was completed at the end of
August. As part of the reconstruction of the fortress, a "five-storey
tower" was built in the vicinity of the church of Ružica and bridges
that year. At that time, the Zindan Gate was reconstructed and got its
present appearance. The tavern between the Zoo and the Church of the
Rosary was built in 1938 and opened in June 1939 (the tenant was soon
convicted under the Suppression of Expensiveness Act). The Nebojsa Tower
was also restored in 1938, the promenade on the Sava side was enlarged,
and the collapsed walls of the terraces below "Pobednik" were repaired.
Before the war, it was planned to build an Olympic stadium in the Lower
Town.
During the Second World War, German occupation forces were
stationed within the fortress. The lower town was regulated in 1941-43,
old buildings and ruins were removed and the space was turned into a
park. After the liberation of Belgrade on October 20, 1944, JNA troops
settled in the fortress, which left it in 1946, when the entire area of
the fortress and the park was placed under state protection.
Significant years
Years of construction and demolition
6th or 11th
- The first fortification of palisades and earthen ramparts
II
century - Roman castrum
441 - The Huns conquer and destroy the
fortress
before 535 - Justinian I built an early Byzantine fortress
VIII century - Aubrey destroys the fortress and it is abandoned
Mid-12th century - Manojlo I Komnin rebuilds the fortress and builds a
castle with stones from the Zemun Fortress
1316-1319. - Milutin
expands the fortification and lowers it towards the Sava (Western
Suburbs)
1403-1407. - Despot Stefan is expanding the fortress
1427
- Additional reinforcements under Despot Stephen
first half of the
15th century - Hungarians strengthen the fortification
1688-1696. -
Kornar turns the medieval into an artillery fortress
around 1690 -
During the Ottoman attack, the entire Despot's City is blown up by an
explosion
1717-1736. - Doxate strengthens the fortification
1739 -
Doksat's reinforcements are demolished according to the Belgrade Peace
The second half of the 18th century - the Ottomans built the
fortification as a simplified form of Doxat's fortifications
1869 -
Most of the fortress begins to turn into Kalemegdan Park
1946 - The
fortress is placed under state protection
Years of fighting change of government
441 - The Huns conquer and
destroy the fortress
471 - Theodoric conquers the fort
489 -
Ostrogoths leave town
VIII century - Aubrey destroys the fortress and
it is abandoned
1112 - Hungarians conquer and demolish the fortress,
and install the material in Zemun City
1183-1184. - The Hungarians
are occupying the fort
1284 - Dragutin takes over Belgrade
1316 -
After Dragutin's death, Milutin conquers Belgrade
1319 - Hungarians
return the fort
1403 - Stefan Lazarević takes over Belgrade
1427 -
After the death of Despot Stefan, the fortification is returned to the
Hungarians
1440 - The first Ottoman siege of the city under Murat II
1456 - Second Ottoman siege of the city under Mehmed II
1521 - The
Ottomans conquer the city under Suleiman the Magnificent
1688 -
Austrians occupy the fortress
circa 1690 - The Ottomans conquer the
fort
1717 - The Austrians occupy the fort
1739 - By the Peace of
Belgrade, the fortress is returned to the Ottomans, and Doksat's
expansion is destroyed
1789 - The Austrians conquer the fort
1791
- The fortress of Svishtov is returned to the Ottomans
1807 - Serbian
insurgents liberate the fortress
1813 - The Ottomans take over the
fortification after the collapse of the First Serbian Uprising
1867 -
Ottomans surrender fortress to Serbs and leave Serbia
1868 - The
Belgrade Penitentiary was founded on the territory of the Belgrade
Fortress, which for decades was the central institution for serving a
prison sentence in Serbia.
1914-1918. - The fortress was severely
damaged during the First World War due to the bombing
first half of
the 20th century - The last permanent peacetime military formation
leaves the fortress
1941-1944. - German occupation troops were
stationed in the fortress, they carried out archeological excavations in
1942-43.
1944—1946. - The JNA keeps its units within the
fortifications
Belgrade Fortress today
Today, the Belgrade
Fortress is a predominantly typical artillery fortification, like
Petrovaradin, but the remains of previous epochs are visible in it. This
difference is best seen in the building material:
The white parts
represent Byzantine and later Serbian, ie. the medieval layer of
construction after which the whole city was named
The red parts
represent the Austrian and Ottoman, ie. artillery layer of construction
Today, the fortress is the property of the state of Serbia and is
under its protection, and the PE "Belgrade Fortress" has direct
management over it. It is constantly open to visitors, and includes:
Military museum
Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of
the City of Belgrade
People's Observatory
Gallery of the Natural
History Museum in Kalemegdan
Church of the Rosary
Chapel of St.
Petka
The winner
Tomb of national heroes
Belgrade Zoo
Small archeological excavations, as well as conservation and
reconstruction works are constantly being carried out within the
fortress.
Remains of a Roman castrum
Traces of the Roman
castrum can be seen today in the traces in the base of the northern and
western ramparts of the Upper Town and they are made up of large regular
carvings.
The remains of the Despot's city
The best-preserved
part of the former Despot's Belgrade is the northeastern part of the
Upper Town, which consists of:
The despot's gate with a tower
next to which you can see the remains of the system of two ramparts that
surrounded the Upper Town
Zindan gate with zwinger (barbican)
In
addition, a significant remnant is the entire eastern rampart of the
Upper and Lower Town with the remains of the Eastern Gate of the Lower
Town, as well as the northern rampart of the Upper Town.
Not far
from the Defterdar Gate, you can see the foundations of the entrance
tower and the ramparts of the Despot's city with the supporting pillars
of the bridge that used to enter it. On the slope between the northern
ramparts of the Upper Town and the plateau of the Small Town, there are
the remains of the metropolitan court within the church dedicated to the
Assumption of the Mother of God, which housed the relics of St. Petka.
Gates
Istanbul Gate (external)
Istanbul Gate (internal)
Karadjordj's gate
Clock gate
Leopold's Gate
Zindan Gate
Despot's Gate or Dizdar's Gate
Defterder Gate
King's Gate or West
Gate
Vidin gate
Dark gate
The Gate of Charles VI was mistakenly
called the Gate of Eugene of Savoy
Kornar's Gate - A walled gate
Towers
Nebojsa Tower
Jakšić Tower
Mlinarica Tower
Despot's Tower
Clock tower