Concept

Golubac Fortress

Summary
The Golubac Fortress (Голубачки град or Golubački grad) was a medieval fortified town on the south side of the Danube River, downstream from the modern-day town of Golubac, Serbia. According to recent discoveries, the fortress, which was built during the 14th century by Medieval Serbian state, is split into three compounds which were built in stages. It has ten towers, most of which started square, and several of which received many-sided reinforcements with the advent of firearms. Towers were not connected for easier defense. Also inside the fortress were found Serbian Medieval frescos. Golubac Fortress has had a tumultuous history. Prior to its construction it was the site of a Roman settlement. During the Middle Ages, it became the object of many battles, especially between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. It changed hands repeatedly, passing between Turks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Serbs, and Austrians, until 1867, when it was turned over to the Serbian Knez, Mihailo Obrenović III. Now, it is a popular tourist attraction in the region and a sightseeing point on Danube boat tours. The fortress has a distinction of successfully repelling over 120 attacks. Golubac, in the Braničevo District of north-eastern Serbia and on the modern-day border with Romania, marks the entrance to the Đerdap national park. It is strategically located on the embankment of the Danube River where it narrows to form the Iron Gate gorge, allowing for the regulation and taxation of traffic across and along the river. In the Middle Ages, this was done with the aid of a strong chain connected to Babakaj, a rock on the far side of the river. At the fortress location, the Danube is wide. The name of the fortress and the modern town in its vicinity can be translated as the "Pigeon city" or the "Dove city" (golub, "pigeon"). It is not uncommon name source in the Serbian toponymy, but the exact reason for the fortress' name is not known and only the myths of the origin of the name exist. Some sources use the descriptive method, as the "towers, like pigeons aim for the skies".
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