The Belogradchik Fortress ( bg, Белоградчишка крепост, ''Belogradchishka krepost''), also known as Kaleto (Калето, "the fortress" from Turkish ''kale''), is an ancient fortress located on the north slopes of the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border bet ...

, close to the northwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n town of

Belogradchik Belogradchik ( bg, Белоградчик ) is a town in Vidin Province, Northwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of the homonymous Belogradchik Municipality. The town, whose name literally means "small white town," is situated in the fo ...

and is the town's primary cultural and historical tourist attraction, drawing, together with the

Belogradchik Rocks The Belogradchik Rocks ( bg, Белоградчишки скали, ''Belogradchishki skali'') are a group of strangely shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations located on the western slopes of the Balkan Mountains (''Stara Planina'') ne ...

, the main flow of tourists into the region. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance. The fortress's walls are over thick in the foundation and reaching up to in height. Three separate fortified yards exist that are connected with each other through gates. The fortress has a total area of . The Belogradchik Fortress was reconstructed to later become a proclaimed cultural monument. It is managed by the local historical museum authority.

History

The initial fortress was constructed during the time when the region was part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. The rock formations in the area served as a natural protection, as fortified walls were practically only built from the northwest and southeast, with the yard being surrounded by rocks up to high from the other sides. Initially, the Belogradchik Fortress served for

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and not strictly defense. The Bulgarian

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...

, Ivan Stratsimir extended the old fortress in the 14th century, building fortified garrisons in front of the existing rock massifs. During Stratsimir's rule, the Belogradchik Fortress became one of the most important strongholds in the region, second only to the tsar's capital fortress of Vidin,

Baba Vida Baba Vida ( bg, Баба Вида) is a medieval castle in Vidin in northwestern Bulgaria and the town's primary landmark. It consists of two concentric curtain walls and about nine towers of which three are preserved to their full medieval heig ...

. During the Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria, the fortress was captured by the Ottomans in 1396. They were forced to further expand the stronghold due to the intensified hajduk and insurrectionist activity in the region. Considerable changes to the fortress were made in the early 19th century. These changes were typical for the Ottoman castle architecture of the period, a full reorganization being carried out, as well as additional expansion. Typically

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an elements were added to the Belogradchik Fortress owing to the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

engineers that participated in the expansion. The stronghold had an important role in the Ottoman suppression of the Bulgarian Belogradchik Uprising of 1850. It was last used in warfare during the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Ser ...

in 1885.

Gallery

File:Kaleto fortress galleryfull.jpg, One of the fortress gates File:Belog 1.JPG File:Belog 2.JPG File:Belog 3.JPG File:Belogradchik Fortress.png, Plan

References

;Notes ;Bibliography

External links

Official tourism page for Belogradchik

Virtual tour of Belogradchik Fortress via Google walking camera

360° virtual tour of Belogradchik fortress and rocks
{{Castles in Bulgaria Castles in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Vidin Province Tourist attractions in Vidin Province History of Vidin Province Belogradchik Municipality