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 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 ...

town-fortress complex in the town of

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

Central Bosnia Canton The Central Bosnia Canton (, ) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most populous settlement in the region is Bugojno, followed by Travnik and Novi Travnik. Geography It is in th ...

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 ...

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

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 1409 ...

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, 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 ...

. 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 Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

was accepted as a vassal of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and thereafter refused to pay tribute to the Porte. As a consequence, both Ottoman and Christian sides began war preparations.

Sultan Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

gathered an army of 150,000 soldiers in

Adrianopolis Edirne (; ), historically known as Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second capital city of the Ottoman ...

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 Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib and ...

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 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. The

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

crossed into

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

, but was pushed back by

Andrew Pongrácz Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

Master of the cupbearers The master of the cupbearers or master of the cup-bearers (, , and ) was one of the high officials of the royal household in the Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, ...

. 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 (;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. ;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. ; ) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania within the Kingdom of Hungary from the 12th century to the 16th century. Appointed by the King of Hun ...

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 ( / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and evolved out of the ...

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

Sanjak of Bosnia Sanjak of Bosnia (, / 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 and Isa-Beg Isaković was appointed its fi ...

. 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, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

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.

Protection and management

Today, the castle is one of the best preserved in Bosnia. It has a small museum dedicated to its history and an ethnographic section inside. The Old Fortress of Travnik is inscribed by KONS into a register of the

National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

on 25 January 2005.

References

External links

*Husref Redzic, 2009 - Medieval cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina {{National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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 ...

Central Bosnia Canton Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina architecture