Bihor was a former
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
and town, now in ruins, approximately north of present-day
Berane
Berane (Cyrillic: Беране) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region. It is former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Ивангра ...
, Montenegro. It gave its name to the
Bihor region
Bihor Region (Regiunea Bihor) was one of the newly established (in 1950) administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania, copied after the Soviet style of territorial organisation.
History
The capital of the region was Oradea, and ...
of Montenegro.
History
Bihor was founded well before 1438. The first surviving mention of the name "Bihor" in the area is in a 1450 document in the
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
archives, "''In loco vocato Bichor''". In 1455, the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
captured the city. It was developed as an important trading spot with 20,046 inhabitants. After the rise of Nikolj-pazar (
Bijelo Polje
Bijelo Polje (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бијело Поље, ) is a town located in the Northern Montenegro, Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Lim (river), Lim River. It has an urban population of 12,900 (2011 census). It is the ad ...
, first mentioned in 1589) it slowly fell into decline, remaining only as a military outpost with crew of 250 soldiers and 4 cannons, its primary task being the control of
Vasojevići
The Vasojevići (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl, Васојевићи, ) is a historical Tribes of Montenegro#Brda, highland tribe (''pleme'') and region of Montenegro, in the area of the Brda (Montenegro), Brda. It is the largest ...
, who once exterminated the whole army from both the fortress and the region during the
battle of Suvodol
The Battle of Suvodol was fought near Sjenica between the Serbian rebels under Karađorđe Petrović and an Ottoman army under Numan-Beg Mahmudbegović in late May 1809, during the First Serbian uprising. It resulted in a Serbian victory.
...
.
During the 16th century, the Ottomans used the castle as
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
for the storage of ammunition. The fortress itself was razed during
Montenegrin-Ottoman conflicts between 1852 and 1858. Gravely damaged, it was finally abandoned in 1912 after
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
.
Today, the town is in ruins. The wall of the castle stands up to above the surrounding ruins.
Geography
Bihor is located on a
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
plateau above the confluence of the (Eleshnitsa) and the
Lim.
See also
*
Bihor (region)
Bihor is a geographical region in northeastern Montenegro, located near Jagoče, Montenegro, Jagoče and northeast of Lopare. The area falls under three municipalities: Berane, Bijelo Polje and Petnjica. It is named after Bihor (fortress), Bihor, a ...
References
*
Notes
External links
*
Berane
Magazines (artillery)
Medieval Serbian architecture
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