Vršac Castle (, ) formerly known as Vršac Tower (, ), is a medieval fortress near

Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

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 ...

. Only Donjon tower remained from the entire complex, but in 2009 reconstruction started, to recreate the entire Vršac Castle. Vršac Castle was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1991, and is protected by the

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 ...

History

There are two theories about the origin of this fortress. According to the Turkish traveler,

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

, the fortress was built by the

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 ...

n despot Đurađ Branković. Historians consider that Branković built the fortress after the fall of

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

in 1439. In its construction the fortress had some architectural elements similar to those in the fortress of

and the fortress around the Manasija monastery. The other theory claims that Vršac Castle is a remnant of the medieval fortress known as ''Erdesumulu'' (Hungarian: ''Érdsomlyó'' or ''Érsomlyó'', Serbian: ''Erd-Šomljo'' / Ерд-Шомљо or ''Šomljo'' / Шомљо). However, sources for this theory do not identify ''Erdesumulu'' with Vršac, but claim that the location of this town and fortress was further to the east, on the

Karaš River The Karaš (in Serbian language, Serbian, also Cyrillic: Караш) or Caraș (in Romanian language, Romanian) is a long river in the Banat region of Vojvodina, Serbia and Romania and a left tributary of the Danube. The Karaš drains an area o ...

, in present-day

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

. A Town named ''Erdesumulu'' was first mentioned in 1227. A Dominican monastery with the relics of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

was founded there between 1230 and 1240, and from 1255 it was the seat of the

comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

. The fortress of ''Erdesumulu'' was built in 1335 as a royal fortress. After the Ottoman conquest in 1552, the Vršac fortress was used by the Ottomans. In 1590/91 the Ottoman garrison there consisted of one aga, two Ottoman officers and 20

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

mercenaries.

Features

Situated on top of the local hill, the tower has a commanding view of the area. Many holidaymakers visit the area to admire views which extend as far as

Reconstruction

At an official meeting held on 4 March 2009, Minister for Culture assistant Dušan Živković, provincial secretary for culture Milorad Djurić, Director of the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage Zoran Vapa, and Vršac Mayor assistant Dragiša Vučinić agreed on the reconstruction of Vršac Tower, to return it to its former look. At that meeting the fortress was officially renamed from Vršac Tower to Vršac Castle.REKONSTRUKCIJA VRŠAČKE KULE

References

External links

*
Photo of the reconstruction modelHistory of Vršac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrsac Castle Forts in Serbia Castles in Serbia Buildings and structures in Vojvodina Medieval Serbian architecture Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia)

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 ...

History

Features

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links