Pirot Fortress or Momchilov grad (''Momchilo's fortress'', Serbian and Bulgarian: Момчилов град) is situated in

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

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 was built in the 14th century by Bulgarian brigand and local ruler

Momchil Momchil (, , ; – 7 July 1345) was a 14th-century Bulgarians, Bulgarian brigand and local ruler. Initially a member of a bandit gang in the borderlands of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire, Byzantium and Serbian Empir ...

.; In 1344, the regency concluded a further alliance with Bulgaria, which required the surrender of Philippopolis (

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

) and nine other towns in northern Thrace along the river Evros. Nevertheless, after their occupation, Ivan Alexander refrained from direct action against

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene (; ; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byza ...

' forces operating in southern and eastern Thrace. At the same time,

, a former

brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

whom Kantakouzenos had entrusted with control over the Merope (region) in the

Rhodope mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

, switched over to the regency. It was supposed to serve as a defense against the Turks along the ancient Roman road called Via Militaris (Military Road) which connected

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 ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Pirot Fortress was declared Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1979, and it is protected by

Republic of 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 ...

.Pirotski grad
/ref>

Gallery

Pirotska tvrđava 1.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 2.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 3.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 4.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 5.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 6.jpg Pirotska tvrđava 7.jpg

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

Association of fortresses and remnants of fortified towns in Serbia
Pirot
Pirotski grad

SANU The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel laureates Ivo ...

web-site, at www.spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs
Pirot.Org
Web portal and forum of municipality of Pirot Medieval Serbian architecture Forts in Serbia Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia) Buildings and structures in Pirot {{Serbia-cultural-heritage-stub

Gallery

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links