The Stambol Gate ( sr-cyr, Стамбол капија, Stambol kapija) was one of the four former

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

s of

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 ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

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 ...

, which allowed access to the city.

History

The Stambol Gate was the main gate of Belgrade on the

Tsarigrad Road The Tsarigrad Road (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Carigradski drum, separator=" / ", Цариградски друм, from Tsargrad, Tsarigrad “City of the Tsar”, an old Slavic languages, Slavic name of Istanbul), also called the Road to Istanbul, Imperial ...

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 ...

(present-day

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

), hence the derivation of the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

name (''Stambol'' is the Serbian name for Istanbul). In the 18th and 19th centuries, Belgrade stretched between the rivers

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and was protected by a deep

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

and

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

s. Located in front of

Kalemegdan The Kalemegdan Park (), or simply Kalemegdan ( sr-Cyrl, Калемегдан) is the largest park and the most important historical monument in Belgrade. It is located on a cliff, at the junction of the River Sava and the Danube. Kalemegdan Pa ...

, the actual city of Belgrade, it included the present-day urban neighbourhoods of

Savski Venac Savski Venac ( sr-cyr, Савски Венац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 36,699 inhabitants. It is one of the three municipalities which constitute the ...

, Stari grad and

Dorćol Dorćol ( sr-Cyrl, Дорћол; ) is an affluent urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Located along the right bank of the Danube, Dorćol is the oldest surviving neighbo ...

The Stambol Gate stood on the square in front of the present-day National Theatre, near the present

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

to Prince

Mihailo Obrenović Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael'', and its cognates include Mihajlo and Mijailo. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. Notable peopl ...

on the present Republic Square in the city centre. Of all the gates of the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

, the Stambol Gate was the best

fortified 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 Lat ...

. The gate was built by the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

during the occupation from 1718 to 1739 and was originally called the Württemberg Gate after the governor Charles Alexander of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. It stood in front of a simple green area where two paths forked to the

Terazije Terazije ( sr-Cyrl, Теразијe) is the central town square and the surrounding neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Stari Grad, Belgrade, Stari Grad. Today, Terazije has primarily function of the main trans ...

and Tašmajdan. Since rebellious Serbs were

publicly In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

impaled on the stakes at the Stambol Gate during the Ottoman rule, this gate was so hated that it was demolished in April–May 1866 by decree of Prince Mihailo. The gate had three entrances, of which the middle one was the largest and was passable for carts. When

Ernst Gideon von Laudon Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon; 13 February 171714 July 1790), was a Baltic German-born Austrian military officer and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the ...

captured Belgrade for the Austrians in 1789, he removed the plaque of Sultan

Mehmed I Mehmed I (; – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi (, "the noble-born") or ''Kirişçi'' (, "lord's son"), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. Son of Sultan Bayezid I and his concubine Devlet Hatun, he fought with hi ...

that was there and brought it to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where it still adorns his grave in the

Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (, ) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese ...

today, along with other military plaques. In 1806, during the capture of Belgrade by the

Serbian revolutionaries Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia Demography, Demographic features of th ...

in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

Vasa Čarapić Vasilije "Vasa" Čarapić ( sr-Cyrl, Василије "Васа" Чарапић; 1768–1806), known as the Dragon from Avala () and Vasso Tscharapitsch (German), was a Serbian voivode who participated in the First Serbian Uprising of the Serbian ...

, one of the leaders of the uprising, died at the Stambol Gate. In memory of this, there is a

on the spot where he died and one of the surrounding streets bears his name.

References

External links

*
''Stambol kapija'' und ''Trg Republike''.
Website der Stadt Belgrad {{coord, 44, 48, 59, N, 20, 27, 37, E, region:RS-00_type:landmark, display=title Military history of Belgrade City gates Demolished buildings and structures in Serbia Buildings and structures in Belgrade 18th-century fortifications Buildings and structures demolished in 1866

History

See also

References

External links