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 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 population of 35,701, while ...

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: , , ), 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 Hungar ...

. Only

Donjon tower A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within 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 ...

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 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 Hungar ...

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. 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, in present-day

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

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 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 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

History

Features

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links