Vršac Castle ( sr, Вршачки замак, ) formerly known as "Vršac Tower" ( sr, Вршачка кула, ) is a medieval fortress near

Vršac Vršac ( sr-cyr, Вршац, ; hu, Versec; ro, Vârșeț) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the city urban area had a pop ...

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Only

Donjon tower A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ca ...

remained from the entire complex, but in 2009 reconstruction started, to recreate the entire Vršac Castle. Vršac Castle was declared a

Monument of Culture of Great Importance Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance ( sr, Непокретна културна добра од изузетног значаја/) are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection i ...

in 1991, and is protected by the

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

History

There are two theories about the origin of this fortress. According to the Turkish traveler,

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

, the fortress was built by the

n despot

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...

. Historians consider that Branković built the fortress after the fall of

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According to ...

in 1439. In its construction the fortress had some architectural elements similar to those in the fortress of

and the fortress around the

Manasija monastery The Manasija Monastery ( sr, Манастир Манасија, Manastir Manasija, ) also known as Resava (Ресава, ), is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Despotovac, Serbia founded by '' Despot'' Stefan Lazarević between 1406 and 1418. Th ...

. The other theory claims that Vršac Castle is a remnant of the medieval fortress known as ''Erdesumulu'' (Hungarian: ''Érdsomlyó'' or ''Érsomlyó'', Serbian: ''Erd-Šomljo'' / Ерд-Шомљо or ''Šomljo'' / Шомљо). However, sources for this theory do not identify ''Erdesumulu'' with Vršac, but claim that the location of this town and fortress was further to the east, on the

Karaš River The Karaš (in Serbian, also Cyrillic: Караш) or Caraș (in Romanian) is a long river in the Banat region of Vojvodina, Serbia and Romania and a left tributary of the Danube. The Karaš drains an area of and although it has been channele ...

, in present-day

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

. A Town named ''Erdesumulu'' was first mentioned in 1227. A Dominican monastery with the relics of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

was founded there between 1230 and 1240, and from 1255 it was the seat of the

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

. The fortress of ''Erdesumulu'' was built in 1335 as a royal fortress. After the Ottoman conquest in 1552, the Vršac fortress was used by the Ottomans. In 1590/91 the Ottoman garrison there consisted of one aga, two Ottoman officers and 20

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

mercenaries.

Features

Situated on top of the local hill, the tower has a commanding view of the area. Many holidaymakers visit the area to admire views which extend as far as

Reconstruction

At an official meeting held on 4 March 2009, Minister for Culture assistant Dušan Živković, provincial secretary for culture Milorad Djurić, Director of the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage Zoran Vapa, and Vršac Mayor assistant

Dragiša Vučinić Dragiša Vučinić ( sr-cyr, Драгиша Вучинић; born 4 April 1948) is a Serbian former professional basketball player and coach who spent major part of his career with Crvena zvezda. Playing career Vučinić grew up playing basketb ...

agreed on the reconstruction of Vršac Tower, to return it to its former look. At that meeting the fortress was officially renamed from Vršac Tower to Vršac Castle.REKONSTRUKCIJA VRŠAČKE KULE

References

External links

*
Photo of the recontruction modelHistory of Vršac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrsac Castle Forts in Serbia Castles in Serbia Buildings and structures in Vojvodina Medieval Serbian architecture Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia)

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

History

Features

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links