Niš Fortress () is a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

in the city of

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. It is a complex and important cultural and historical monument. It rises on the right bank of the Nišava River, overlooking the area inhabited for longer than two millennia. It was protected by law in May 1948 as it was declared a cultural site of great significance. The current condition of the fortress lists it as one of the best preserved fortifications of this kind in Serbia as well as on the Balkan Peninsula.

History

The existing fortification is of

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723). It is well known as one of the most significant and best preserved monuments of this kind in the mid-

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. The Fortress was erected on the site of earlier fortifications – the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, and later yet Medieval forts. During World War I it was occupied by Bulgarians who turned it into a prison where Serbian patriots were imprisoned.

Building

The Fortress has a polygonal ground plan, eight bastion terraces and four massive gates. It stretches over 22 ha of land. The rampart walls are 2,100 m long, 8 m high and 3 m thick on the average. The building stone, brought from the nearby quarries, was hewn into rather evenly shaped blocks. The inside of the rampart wall was additionally fortified by a wooden construction, ''santrač'', and an additional bulwark, ''trpanac''. On the outside, the Fortress was surrounded by a wide

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, whose northern part has been preserved to our days. Beside the massive stone rampart walls, the southern Stambol Gate and the western

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Gate are pretty well preserved. Partly preserved are the water gates, while there are only remains of the northern Vidin Gate and the south-east Jagodina Gate. With a complete reconstruction of all the gates, Niš Fortress would once again become, architecturally and functionally, a closed fortification system. Far into the fortress, there is a weather station, that provides forecasts for the city of Niš. Since 1966, the fortress is the location of the Niš Film Festival.

Buildings and monuments within the walls

Град Ниш улаз у тврђаву.jpg, Stambol Gate inside Beogradska kapija niške tvrđave, pogled sa unutrašnje strane DSC 0165.JPG,

gate Niska tvrdjava ostaci kapije1.jpg, Vidin gate (remains) Niska tvrdjava ostaci kapije2.jpg, Vodena (Water) gate Hamam u Nisu1.jpg, Hammam (Turkish bath) Niška tvrđava, Niš, Srbija, 036.JPG, Bali-Bey Mosque Niška tvrđava, arsenal DSC 0123.JPG, The arsenal building, which now houses art galleries Barutana u niškoj tvrđavi DSC 0030.JPG, Powder magazine Niška tvrđava, Pašin konak DSC 6428.JPG, Pasha's residence Niska tvrdjava sredjeni ostaci1.jpg, Conserved Roman ruins which now work as bars Аncient workshop in the Niš Fortress,IMG 3720.jpg, Аncient workshop remains near the Bali-Bey Mosque Niška tvrđava, lapidarijumDSC 6409.JPG,

Lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

Ancient streets in Niš. IMG 3506.jpg, Remains of ancient streets The building is Octagon.IMG 4878.jpg, Ancient Octagon Palace Vaulted Building in Niš Fortress 03.jpg, Vaulted Building, archeological site Spomenik knezu Milanu u Tvrdjavi 1.jpg, Monument to Milan I of Serbia Summer stage in Niš Fortress.IMG 3804.jpg, Summer stage City garden Niš.IMG 3706.jpg, City garden Niš

References

External links

The Fortress of Niš
Niš Fortress web page

at the City of Niš' official web page

at virtualtourist.com * Ottoman architecture in Serbia * * Forts in Serbia Tourism in Serbia Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia) {{Serbia-cultural-heritage-stub

History

Building

Buildings and monuments within the walls

See also

References

External links