Travnik Castle, locally known as ''Stari Grad Castle'' (old town castle), is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

town-fortress complex in the town of

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 20 ...

Central Bosnia Canton The Central Bosnia Canton ( bs, Srednjobosanski kanton/Средњобосански кантон, hr, Županija Središnja Bosna) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most populous se ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Location

The fortress is located in the Plava Voda neighbourhood of the town, overlooking the northbound side E661.

History

Dating back to pre-Ottoman Bosnia when the former Christian Kingdom ruled the region, there is no historical data as to the construction date of the Medieval fortress. However, the construction type and other characteristics indicate that it was built sometime in the second half of the 14th century or in the first half of the 15th century. As a result, It was probably built during the time of the

Bosnian Kings This is a list of rulers of Bosnia, containing bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia. Duke (1082–1136) Bans (1136–1377) Kings and queen (1377–1463) All Bosnian kings added the honorific Stephen to their baptismal name upon accession. , ...

Tvrtko II Stephen Tvrtko II ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; died in November 1443), also known as Tvrtko Tvrtković (), was a member of the House of Kotromanić who reigned as King of Bosnia from 1404 to 140 ...

or Ostoja, and then rebuilt and expanded during the time of Stephen Thomas. The Travnik fortress was erected before the arrival of the Ottoman Turks for the purpose of defence as the Ottomans penetrated deeper into

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Travnik itself was one of a number of fortified towns in the region built for this purpose but was built too late to stem the Ottoman advance. In 1462 King Stephen Tomašević was accepted as a vassal of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

and thereafter refused to pay tribute to the

Porte Porte may refer to: * Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire * Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy * John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator * Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who compe ...

. As a consequence, both Ottoman and Christian sides began war preparations.

Sultan Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

gathered an army of 150,000 soldiers in Adrianopolis and departed for the Lower Danube area in April 1463.Fessler (1867), p. 103 ''(a number excluding the infantry and

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...

s)'' As a part of a diversion attack, he commanded Ali Bey Mihaloğlu to invade southern lands of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

. The Bey crossed into

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

, but was pushed back by Andrew Pongrácz, Master of the cupbearers. He then made a flanking move to the heart of Hungary until he reached Temesvár, where he encountered John Pongrác

Voivode of Transylvania The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wi ...

and was defeated in a fierce battle.Borovszky (1898), p. 357 Meanwhile, Mehmet II had advanced on

, which he besieged and took. That year the

Bosnian Kingdom The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

fell to the Ottomans. From 1463, until 1878, Travnik was under Ottoman rule, becoming part of the

Sanjak of Bosnia Sanjak of Bosnia ( tr, Bosna Sancağı, sh, Bosanski sandžak / Босански санџак) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire established in 1463 when the lands conquered from the Bosnian Kingdom were transformed into a sanjak an ...

. The conquering Ottomans saw the significance this strategic location represented for the military, later developing and expanding the castle, transforming it into a fortress with watchtowers. Today's walls represent that result. In 1878, Travnik (as with the rest of

) came under

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

control. During the period of the First World War, Travnik was behind the front lines and the fortress saw no action; however military activities were carried out within its walls. The town was a military garrison of the Austro-Hungarian army as Travnik was in central Bosnia and very well connected by rail.https://ww1sites.eu/index.php?id=35&tx_wwicaheritage_caheritage%5BcaHeritage%5D=40&tx_wwicaheritage_caheritage%5Baction%5D=show&tx_wwicaheritage_caheritage%5Bcontroller%5D=CaHeritage&cHash=653a068d9153629a9b9cd8c0ee6db83e the city became an important economic and traffic centre, and the fortress was maintained, marked in their military charts. The old train was used for the transportation of soldiers, officers and wounded soldiers, while military equipment, weapons, and ammunition were brought in and distributed.

Current state

Today, the castle is the best preserved in Bosnia and is a national monument. It has a small museum dedicated to its history and an ethnographic section inside.

References

External links

*Husref Redzic, 2009 - Medieval cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina {{Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina Medieval architecture Travnik Central Bosnia Canton Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina architecture