- Niš Fortress
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Niš Fortress
Niška tvrđavaNiš
Serbia
Niš FortressCoordinates 43°19′33″N 21°53′43″E / 43.3259°N 21.8954°ECoordinates: 43°19′33″N 21°53′43″E / 43.3259°N 21.8954°E Built 18th century Construction
materialsStone Current
conditionReconstructed Current
ownerCity of Niš Open to
the publicYes Niš Fortress (Serbian: Нишка тврђава / Niška tvrđava) is a fortress in the city of Niš, Serbia. It is a complex and very important cultural and historical monument. It rises on the right bank of the Nišava River, and is over two millennia old.[1]
The extant fortification is of Turkish origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century (1719–1723). It is well-known as one of the most significant and best preserved monuments of this kind in the mid-Balkans. The Fortress was erected on the site of earlier fortifications - the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and later yet Mediaeval forts. The Fortress has a polygonal ground plan, eight bastion terraces and four massive gates. It stretches over 22 ha of land. The rampart walls are 2,100 m long, 8 m high and 3 m thick on the average. The building stone, brought from the nearby quarries, was hewn into rather evenly-shaped blocks. The inside ofhe rampart wall was additionally fortified by a wooden construction, santrač, and an additional bulwark, trpanac. On the outside, the Fortress was surrounded by a wide moat, whose northern part has been preserved to our days. Beside the massive stone rampart walls, the southern Stambol gate and the western Belgrade gate are pretty well preserved. Partly preserved are the water gates, while there are only remains of the northern Vidin gate and the south-east Jagodina gate. With a complete reconstruction of all the gates, Niš Fortress would once again become, architecturally and functionally, a closed fortification system. Far into the fortress, there is a weather station, that provides forecasts for the city of Niš.
See also
References
- Niš Fortress at the City of Niš' official web page
- The Fortress, Nis at virtualtourist.com
External links
Media related to Niš Fortress at Wikimedia CommonsCultural Heritage of Serbia 
Archaeological sites Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance • Archaeological Sites of Great Importance • Protected Archaeological Sites
Monuments of Culture Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance • Monuments of Culture of Great Importance • Protected Monuments of CultureHistoric Landmarks Historic Landmarks of Exceptional Importance • Historic Landmarks of Great Importance • Protected Historic LandmarksSpatial Cultural-Historical Units Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance • Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance • Protected Spatial Cultural-Historical UnitsCategories:- Cultural Heritage of Serbia
- Niš
- Buildings and structures in Niš
- Forts in Serbia
- Tourism in Serbia
- Serbia geography stubs
- Cultural Heritage of Serbia stubs
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