Tešanj Fortress ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Tešanjska tvrđava'' / Тешањска тврђава), also known locally as Gradina 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 ...

located in

Tešanj Tešanj ( cyrl, Тешањ) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 43,063 inhabitants, whil ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It remains one of the biggest historical defensive fortifications in the country with an area of .

Location

The fortress is located on a steep

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

around which Tešanj city centre eventually was formed. It is accessible only from one side which had provided it with a good defensive advantage against any incoming forces.

History

No current historical sources identify the exact year of its construction or who its constructor was. The early foundation of this fortification had started some time during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and it was later gradually expanded by the Romans,

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

and

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. It has been primarily a defensive fortification and during the Ottoman period, the fortress had a permanent

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

garrison. In 1697, during

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

's raid, it had been besieged for 3 days but remained unconquered.

References

External links

* Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Tešanj Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina architecture {{BosniaHerzegovina-castle-stub

Location

History

See also

References

External links