Bač Fortress

Medieval Hungarian-built fortress in Serbia

Bač fortress
Бачка тврђава

Bač
Serbia

Remains of Bač fortress

Site information
Type| Fortification
Owner| Republic of Serbia
Open to
the public| Yes
Condition| Partially restored
Location
Coordinates| 45°23′35″N 19°13′18″E﻿ / ﻿45.3931°N 19.2217°E﻿ / 45.3931; 19.2217
Height| 20 m (66 ft)
Site history
Built| 873 (predecessor)
1338-1342
Built by| Charles Robert I (ordered by)
In use| 1342-1704
Materials| Brick, stone, terracotta
Demolished| 1704

Cultural Heritage of Serbia

Type| Spatial Cultural-Historical Unit of Exceptional Importance
Designated| 30 July 1948
Reference no.| PKIC 52

Bač Fortress (Serbian: Бачка тврђава, romanized: Bačka tvrđava; Hungarian: Bácsi vár) is a medieval fortress in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located in the town of Bač, in the Bačka region.

Founded by the king Charles Robert I, the fortress was the most important Hungarian rampart against the invading Ottoman forces and today is the best preserved medieval fort in Vojvodina.[1]

## History

[edit]

### Origin

[edit]

According to chronicles, the Avar fortress, which existed in 873 in Bač, predated the later fort.[2] It was inhabited by both Avars and Slavs. The Hungarian King Stephen I founded Bács County, and at the turn of the first millennium Bač (Hungarian: Bács) was already a well built and fortified town, connected to the Danube by the river Mostonga. During the Árpád dynasty, Bač became not only the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa, but a royal city, where nobles and rulers came to their councils and assemblies. In the twelfth century Bač fortress is first mentioned in written sources.

At the head of Bács county there were ispáns appointed by the king. Until the Mongol invasion in 1241, the ispáns were the managers of the area. They collected donations, set up military and civilian commanders. In addition to the governors of the fort there were also lower prefects, judges, and military personnel. Since the twelfth century, the custom of annual royal visits to the fort was established.

### Construction

[edit]

The Fortress was founded by Charles I, King of Hungary

At the beginning of the fourteenth century a dynasty change occurred in the Kingdom of Hungary. and the town prospered during the rule of king Charles Robert I, who started building the modern fortress in 1338–42.[3] The new town (fortress) on Mostonga had the quadrangular tower with six floors, important for the defense of the city. Originally there were 8 towers, various chambers of the county manager, a chapel, guard towers, kitchen, water well, barn, and various other premises, the remains of which stand today.

The fort and the town developed as Bač was the major crossroad at the time. Roads from and to Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean all crossed here, and the tall central tower allowed the overseeing and control of the lowlands and both the river and the land traffic.[3]

Though the construction began in the first half of the 14th century, which is the base of what survived until today, the complex was shaped in the present way by the 15th century and reached its full extension by the 16th century. Archbishop Péter Váradi [hu] expanded and embellished the fortress and also dredged the Mostonga so that ships from the Danube were able to reach the fort.[3]

From the 15th century, it was the most important Hungarian defense point against the invading Ottoman forces. The pivotal moment was the disastrous Hungarian defeat in 1526 at the Battle of Mohács, so the Ottomans conquered Bač in 1529.[1] During the war between Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, in the 16th century, Serbian despot Stevan Berislavić successfully defended the Bač fortress from the Ottomans for a long time until the fortress finally fell.

### Ottoman period

[edit]

In the aftermath of the Battle of Mohács from 1526, the city and fort became an Ottoman possession.[4] During the Ottoman rule (16th-17th century), Bač was the seat of the Kaza of Baç, as part of the Sanjak of Segedin. Dating from this period are also the descriptions of Bač Fortress by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi. According to his description, the city was surrounded by a wide circle of trenches filled with water. Surrounding the city was also a developing civilian settlement, which could be entered through the fortress drawbridge gate, named the "Spike".

### Later period

[edit]

Since 1686 the town was under Habsburg control. The fortress was mined with explosives in 1704, during the Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11),[1] and was subsequently abandoned as it was left burned, demolished, and without the previous military importance it had.[3] However, Bač fortress still remains the best preserved medieval fortress in Vojvodina.[2]

Serbian army entered Bač in November 1918. On 25 November 1918, the local assembly of Banat, Bačka and Baranja voted unification with Serbia, which, in turn, merged into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 December 1918, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. The area was occupied and annexed by Hungary in April 1941, during World War II, until 22 October 1944 when it was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans and Red Army Since 2003, it was part of Serbia and Montenegro until 5 June 2006, when Serbia restored independence.

## Characteristics

[edit]

The medieval fortress in Bač is known as one of the great fortresses of its time in the Pannonian plain.[5] It was built by the town of the same name to the west, on a small island on the river Mostonga. The Fortress in Bač is known as one of the so-called "water towns", because it used to be surrounded by the Mostonga river on all sides, approachable only by the drawbridges.[6] It also meant that it was adapted for defense in the lowland and marshy areas.[3]

The ruins of the fortress in its present state, consist of a base in the form of an irregular pentagon ("trapezoid").[3] The fort used to have 8 towers, but five are preserved today. There are four lateral towers while the fifth is the 20 m (66 ft) tall keep (donžon).[1] The trapezoidal base covers 5,600 m2 (60,000 sq ft), while the entire plateau on which the tower complex is located has 8,700 m2 (94,000 sq ft). The ramparts which connect the towers are massive. Three corner towers have round base and are open towards the interior of the fort. The northwest tower and the one with the main gate have a square base.[3]

The most fortified was the eastern side, which included the ''branič'' [sr] tower, the keep, residential palace, palace for the knights, water well, cistern and food storage. On the inside, several objects, of different purpose, directly leaned onto the rampart walls. The materials used for the construction is mostly brick, while the stone and terracotta were used for the ornaments.[3]

The Section of Bač below the fortress is called Podgrađe. It consists of 36 houses in the typical lowland Vojvodina style and is protected, together with the fort, as the Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance. The section is directly accessed via the bridge across the canal and through the gate, which is still being called the "Spike" (Šiljak). The houses were built from the 18th to the 20th century, and residents are not allowed to change façades without prior consent from the institutes in charge of protection.[1]

## Reconstructions

[edit]

1902 painting of the fortress by Karol Miloslav Lhotský

The fortress was left to the elements from the 18th to the 20th century. The first occasional archaeological explorations began in the 19th century, but the survey started in earnest in the 20th century.[1] Initial archaeological work and assessment of the object was done by Imre Hanzelman in 1870, who also left valuable sketches of the ruins. Later exploration by Aleksandar Deroko and Đurđe Bošković contributed to the declaration of the fortress as a cultural monument in 1948, among the first in Serbia. The protected area includes the remains of the fortified castle with the barbican, the neighborhood of Podgrađe and the "Spike" gate.[3]

Miloje Milošević conducted the archaeological excavations in the 1960s, instigating the notion for saving the ruins as he reconstructed the keep tower, but the complex wasn't revitalized and the tower remained without a purpose. Another campaign for the revitalization by the archaeologists in the early 1980s also failed. In 1993 a fire broke out inside the keep, ruining for the most part the effects of the previous reconstructions.[3]

Emergency interventions in the complex began in 2003. The thoroughly degraded keep was revitalized. It was a nucleus of the project the "Centuries of Bač" which was envisioned in 2006.[3] That is when the reconstruction and conservation project, which includes the exploration works, began in earnest. The fortress was restored, archaeological sections were conserved while the visitors center was open in the keep. The project was awarded the 2018 Europa Nostra Award, European Union prize for cultural heritage.[1]

The keep is fully operational on all 5 floors. The museum exhibition is set on two storeys. The terracotta plastics found inside is shaped under the influence of the early Renaissance and very rare in this part of Europe. The southern and eastern parts of the ramparts were thoroughly explored and restored, which made them visible above the ground, including the main tower with the gate. The new entry point was made across the wooden bridge through the former pedestrian gate which to the visitors gives the sense to the enclosed yard and understanding of the space which was defended.[3]

The accelerated decay of the western part of the complex, including the tower and the rampart wall, was stopped. Same was done in the northeast section (square tower, chapel tower, stone corbel tower). As over 60% of the originally built objects is lost for good, the interventions here included the conservation of the remains and "gentle" restoration and remediation. Techniques used include the old crafts, reviving the technique of the building using mortar made with quicklime and using the locally available raw materials. Educational center was open in Podgrađe.[3]

The project was awarded the 2018 Europa Nostra Award, European Union prize for cultural heritage.[1][3]

In 2019, the Cultural landscape of Bač and its surroundings was placed on the tentative list for a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[7] In 2022, the municipality of Bač started an initiative to revitalized the entire Bać area for the World Heritage Site application. With the adoption of the detailed regulation plan for the spatial whole of "Drevni Bač sa tvrđavom" (Ancient Bač with Fortress), it is planned to retain all existing features in the area of the Fortress, Spike Gate and Podgrađe. Street corridors will be retained with a new addition of a cycling path that would connect to the EuroVelo 6 cycling route. The entire project includes the return of Mostonga′s old river that once surrounded the fortress by artificially creating a mount and filling the old river bed with water. The return of the old river bed includes the addition of new recreational facilities for fishing and rowing. A boat mooring will be planned in the southeastern part of the Mostonga river. In the Podgrađe area, 36 of the currently remaining houses are planned to be preserved, refurbished and turned into restaurants, souvenir shops, cafés, ethno-houses and lodgings, inspired by similar efforts done in Alberobello, Italy. There are plans to restore an old Turkish bath, the only preserved Hammam in Vojvodina, located south from the old river bed.[8]

## Gallery

[edit]

* View of the fortress and Bač town

* View of the fortress from the south

* View from the south-east

* The tower

## See also

[edit]

* List of fortresses in Serbia
* Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bač Fortress.

* Bač Fortress

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Andrijana Cvetićanin (1 April 2018). "Tvrđava pod prolećnim snegom" [Fortress under the spring snow]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1070 (in Serbian). pp. 19–21.
2. ^ a b "Bač Fortress". virtuelnimuzejdunava.rs. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Marija Đorđević (16 June 2018). "Нови живот за бедеме Бача" [New life for the ramparts of Bač (interview with Slavica Vujović, head of the fortress' conservation team)]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 07.
4. ^ "Bač Fortress (Bačka tvrđava) -- ruins". kb.osu.edu. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
5. ^ "Bac". www.sekcijatvrdjava.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
6. ^ "Historical place of Bač and its Surroundings". UNESCO. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
7. ^ "Cultural landscape of Bač and its surroundings". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
8. ^ Milošević, Žikica (12 May 2023). "Bačka tvrđava ponovo postaje ostrvo, ovaj put pod zaštitom Uneska?" [The Bač Fortress becomes an island again, this time under the protection of Unesco?]. gradnja.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 October 2023.

* v
* t
* e

Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance

Archaeological Sites|

* Vinča
* Mediana
* Justiniana Prima
* Mramorje
* Velika humka
* Rudna Glava
* Gamzigrad
* Trajan's Bridge
* Lepenski Vir
* Diana/Karataš
* Kraku Lu Jordan
* Starčevo
* Bassianae
* Sirmium
* Židovar
* Gomolava
* Čibska šuma
* Kalvarija
* Ulpiana
* Viminacium

Cultural Monuments|

* St. Achillius
* Dositej's Lyceum
* Residence of Princess Ljubica
* Belgrade Fortress
* Captain Miša Mansion
* Belgrade Cathedral
* Museum of 4 July
* Secret Partisan Print Shop
* Residence of Prince Miloš
* Topčider Church
* Topčider Parish House
* Topčider Obelisk
* Pokajnica
* Golubac Fortress
* Takovo complex
* Manasija
* Tabula Traiana
* Kragujevac District Courthouse
* House of Svetozar Marković
* Sobrašice of Lužnice
* Žiča
* Studenica
* Maglič
* Lazarica with Kruševac Fortress
* St. Nicholas Monastery
* Holy Mother of God, Kuršumlija
* Lazarevac Memorial Church
* Mačkov Kamen complex
* Despot Stefan Memorial
* Hajduk Veljko's Powder Magazine
* Early Byzantine Tomb
* Skull Tower
* Niš concentration camp
* Đurđevi Stupovi
* Petrova Church
* Sopoćani
* Stari Ras
* Hristić family House
* Banja Monastery
* Mileševa
* Partisan Hospital, Prijepolje
* St. Peter and Paul's in Gornja Dobrinja
* Gradac Monastery
* Kalenić
* Smederevo Fortress
* Museum of 1941 Uprising
* Partisan printing house "Borba"
* Headquarters of the Main People's Liberation Committee of Serbia
* Plant nursery, Užice
* Partisan Hospital, Krčagovo
* Kadinjača
* Stari Han
* Oplenac
* Ljubostinja
* Ravanica
* House of Dimitrije Tucović
* Atenica Wine cellar
* Prnjavor Memorial Chapel
* Wooden Church, Dub
* St. Peter and Paul's in Sirogojno
* Monument to the Unknown Hero
* Prohor Pčinjski
* Bođani Monastery
* Bač Franciscan Church
* Dunđerski Palace
* Neštin House
* Bački Petrovac House
* Beočin Monastery
* Rakovac Monastery
* Šlajz
* Bishop's palace, Vršac
* Mesić Monastery
* Vojinović Bridge
* Medieval palace of Vučitrn
* Monastery of St Barbara
* Danilović House
* Hadum mosque
* Orthodox Church in Čurug
* St. Nicholas', Stari Slankamen
* Velika Remeta
* Vrdnik-Ravanica
* Grgeteg Monastery
* Jazak Monastery
* Mala Remeta
* Candlemas Church, Krušedol Selo
* Krušedol Monastery
* Novo Hopovo
* Staro Hopovo
* Gorioč
* Our Lady of Hvosno
* St. John's, Crkolez
* St. Nicholas', Đurakovac
* St. Nicholas', Kikinda
* Suvača
* Orthodox Church in Mokrin
* Churches in White Drin valley
* Dobra Voda
* Dolac Church
* Drsnik Church
* Mlečane Church
* Čabić Church
* Kijevo Church
* Pograđe Lower Church
* Pograđe Upper Church
* Romanian Church in Uzdin
* Holy Thetokos', Vaganeš
* Ubožac (Rđavac)
* Presentation of Mary, Lipljan
* Arača
* Almaška Church
* Church of The Assumption, Novi Sad
* Novo Brdo
* St. Nicholas', Velika Hoča
* St. John's, Velika Hoča
* Vojlovica
* Transfiguration Church, Pančevo
* Transfiguration Church, Budisavci
* Bajrakli Mosque
* St. Jeremiah's, Goraždevac
* Warehouses of Karlovčić
* Ogar House
* St. Luke's, Kupinovo
* St. Nicholas', Sibač
* Kaljaja
* St. Peter of Koriša
* Holy Salvation, Prizren
* St. Nicholas', Prizren
* Churches of Sredačka Župa
* Holy Virgin, Sredska
* St. George's, Sredska
* St. Nicholas', Mušnikovo
* St. Paraskevi, Mušnikovo
* Bogoševce Church
* Gornje Selo Church
* Drajčići Church
* Sinan Pasha Mosque
* Hammam of Prizren
* Imperial Mosque
* St. John's, Sombor
* Devič
* Divša
* Kuveždin
* Petkovica Monastery
* Warehouses of Golubinci
* Šišatovac
* Old St. Stephen's, Sremska Mitrovica
* Patriarchate of Karlovci
* Saint Nicholas', Sremski Karlovci
* Subotica Synagogue
* Subotica City Hall
* Virgin Hodegetria, Mušutište
* St. George's, Rečane
* Catholic Church of Čoka
* Orthodox Church of Vilovo
* Zvečan Fortress
* Sokolica
* Monuments of Nerodimlje
* Nerodimlje Medieval Town
* Petrič Fortress
* St. Uroš
* Holy Archangels, Gornje Nerodimlje
* Churches of Sirinićka Župa
* St George's, Gornja Bitinja
* St. Theodor Tyron's, Donja Bitinja
* St. Nicholas', Gotovuša
* St. Nicholas', Štrpce
* Privina Glava
* Orthodox Church of Molovin
* Holy Archangels
* Gračanica
* Visoki Dečani
* Our Lady of Ljeviš
* Patriarchate of Peć
* Banjska Monastery
* Terzijski Bridge
* Miloš Obrenović's House

Historic Landmarks|

* Bela Crkva
* Bubanj
* Šumarice
* Stolice
* Marićevića jaruga
* Radovanjski Lug
* Cer Memorial Ossuary
* Vuk Karadžić's birth house
* Kraljevo Memorial Park
* Čegar
* Ljubić
* Boško Buha Memorial Complex
* Chapel of Peace
* Site of the Battle of Slankamen
* Vezirac Hill Memorial
* Idvor Memorial Complex
* Site of the Battle of Senta
* Syrmian Front Memorial Complex
* Takovski grm

Spatial Cultural-Historical Units|

* Knez Mihailova Street
* Tešnjar
* Novi Pazar Fortress with the Old Bazaar and Altun-Alem Mosque
* Gornja Dobrinja Complex
* Negotin Wine Cellars
* Rajac Wine Cellar
* Rogljevo Wine Cellar
* Štubik Wine Cellar
* "Staro selo" Etno Complex
* Topčider
* Stari Ras area
* Gazimestan
* Sremski Karlovci
* Bač Fortress
* Dositej's Lyceum area
* Fruška Gora
* Military Technical Institute Complex

* v
* t
* e

World Heritage Site 'Tentative List' applicants in Serbia

2002 applicants|

* Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima)
* Đerdap National Park
* Šar Mountains National Park
* The Deliblato Sands Special Natural Reserve
* Đavolja Varoš
* The Tara National Park with the Drina River Canyon

2010 applicants|

* Fortified Manasija Monastery
* Bač Fortress and its surroundings
* Rajačke Pimnice
* Smederevo Fortress

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* e

Castles, fortresses and palaces in  Serbia

Castles,
fortresses
& palaces|

* Amidža Konak
* Anište
* Atanas
* Banovina Palace
* Bač Fortress
* Bács-Bodrog County Palace
* Belgrade Fortress
* Bishop' s Palace in Novi Sad
* Bishop' s Palace in Vršac
* Bisingen Nippenburg Palace in Vršac
* Bolvan Fortress
* Borač Fortress
* Building of the Patriarchate
* Braničevo Fortress
* Castle Šlos in Golubinci
* Clerical High School of Saint Arsenije
* Dardana Fortress*
* Diana Fort
* Fantast
* Fetislam
* Gamzigrad
* Golubac Fortress
* Gradište*
* Grand palace Danijel in Stari Lec
* Grand palace Lazarević in Veliko Središte
* Harilaq Fortress
* Jeleč
* Jerinin Grad, Brangović
* Jerinin Grad, Grabovac
* Kapetanovo
* Kovin
* Koznik
* Kruševac Fortress
* Kurvingrad
* Maglič
* Manasija
* Markovo Kale
* Mileševac Fortress
* Morović Fortress
* Nenadović Tower
* Niš Fortress
* Novi Dvor
* Novi Sad City Hall
* Novo Brdo Fortress*
* Ostrvica
* Patriarchate Court in Sremski Karlovci
* Palace Baba Pusta in Aleksa Šantić
* Palace Bezeredi in Čelarevo
* Palace Biserno Ostrvo in Bačko Gradište
* Palace Bisingen in Vlajkovac
* Palace Bisinger in Vlajkovac
* Palace Damaskin in Hajdučica
* Palace Danijel in Konak
* Palace Dunđerski in Kulpin
* Palace Eđešeg in Novi Sad
* Palace Gomboš in Bečej
* Palace Hadik in Futog
* Palace Hercl in Vrbas
* Palace Hertelendi in Bočar
* Palace Ilion in Sremski Karlovci
* Palace in Gornja Rogatica
* Palace Ingus in Hajdukovo
* Palace in Karađorđevo
* Palace in Melenci
* Palace Jagodić near Konak
* Palace Jovanović in Sočica
* Palace Kapetanovo in Stari Lec
* Palace Karas in Horgoš
* Palace Kaštel in Bačka Topola
* Palace Kaštel in Panonija
* Palace Kiš in Elemir
* Palace Kovač in Riđica
* Palace Lazar in Ečka
* Palace Maldegem in Novi Kneževac
* Palace Marcibanji-Lederer in Čoka
* Palace Marcibanji in Sremska Kamenica
* Palace Nojhauzen in Srpska Crnja
* Palace of Laslo Karačonji in Novo Miloševo
* Palace of Miloš Bajić in Bočar
* Palace Redl in Rastina
* Palace Rogendorf in Banatski Dvor
* Palace Servijski-Šulpe in Novi Kneževac
* Palace Sečenji in Temerin
* Palace Sokolac in Novi Bečej
* Palace Stratimirović in Kulpin
* Palace Tabori in Vrbas
* Palace Talijan in Novi Kneževac
* Palace Zako in Bajša
* Palace Zobnatica in Bačka Topola
* Palace Špicer in Beočin
* Pančevo Fortress
* Petrovaradin Fortress
* Pirot Fortress
* Prilepac
* Prizrenac (fortress)*
* Prizren Fortress*
* Prokuplje Fortress
* Raichle's Palace
* Ram Fortress
* Ravanica
* Ruthenian Court in Šid
* Small Palace Danijel in Stari Lec
* Small Palace Lazarević in Veliko Središte
* Smederevo Fortress
* Soko Grad
* Soko Grad
* Stalać Fortress
* Stari Dvor
* Stari Grad
* Stari Ras
* Trojanov Grad
* Toman Villa in Vrbas
* Vidin Grad
* Villa Danijel in Zrenjanin
* Villa Divan, Sajan
* Villa Elek, Zrenjanin
* Villa Engelman in Gunaroš
* Villa Ertl in Odžaci
* Villa in Kikinda
* Villa in Kula
* Villa in Palić
* Villa in Savino Selo
* Villa Lujza in Palić
* Villa Mavrokordato in Kikinda
* Villa Pece in Mali Iđoš
* Villa Pejačević in Jarkovci
* Villa Rizenfelder in Kikinda
* Villa Stanković in Čortanovci
* Villa Vamošer in Bački Monoštor
* Villa Vlaškalić, Mošorin
* Villa Šulho Vebera in Padej
* Vojinovića Tower
* Vršac Castle
* Zatrič*
* Zelen-grad
* Zemun Fortress
* Zvečan Fortress*
* Šabac Fortress
* Žrnov

See also: Forts and Castles in Serbia, Palaces and Manor Houses in Serbia, Immovable Cultural Heritage of Serbia
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