Medieval Belgrade - reconstrucion

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Among fortifications of SouthEast Europe, Belgrade in its history plays an inseparable role in the events which had, over past two thousand years, influenced destinies of European states and nations. Positioned on an exceptionally suitable site, on crossing of European roads towards East, it had, for centuries, served as the strong point of defense, as well as the start point of conquering campaigns.


Marko Radosavljevic

Student of Architecture who is an experienced digital animator/modeler, art designer, special effects artist, has extensive knowledge in professional production..made Digital Art Design from the special exhibition "Pictures of the Lost City", screened at the European Heritage Days, Belgrade - September 11-19, 2004 :



Barbican of the East Gate; present-day Zindan Gate Complex



Civilian Port and Cannon Tower; present-day Nebojsa Tower



Civilian Port and Cannon Tower; present-day Nebojsa Tower

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Eastern Outer Ward with Cannon Tower; present-day Jaksic Tower



Fortified Castle with Nebojsa Keep



General view of Fortress from Sava's mouth

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Belgrade



Military Fortified Port



Military Fortified Port

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Slope towards Sava River and West Gate









http://www.belgradexv.com/belgrade_page4.htm

About

Digitally Animated Movie

"The Most Beautiful Place since the Days of Yore" – digital reconstruction of the Fortress of Belgrade as it looked in the 15 th century. (Original Title: "Najkrasnije mesto od davnina", Beograd XV vek), see:

http://www.belgradexv.com/belgrade_page1.htm

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A brief history of Belgrade Fortress


"I cometh and found the noblest burgh from ancient times,
the grand town of Belgrade". Despot Stefan Lazarevic (15th c.)


Belgrade is undoubtedly one of the oldest towns in this part of Europe, though its present appearance gives an impression of a completely new city. Nowadays, the only place where the remains of its distant past can be seen is the fortress, situated on the site of the former fortified settlement - the site where Belgrade was founded during the Roman era in the 1st century AD and on which it developed right down to the second half of the 18th century. The fortress we see today was built in mid-18th century, but its walls encircle the old 15th century Acropolis or the Upper Town made when Belgrade was proclaimed for the Serbian capital in 1404.

Roman Singidunum
The Belgrade Fortress, situated on a bluff towering over the confluence of the Rivers Sava and Danube, has exceptionally fine position, easily defended and dominating the area. It is for this that people settled here during pre-historic times. The earliest settlement, judging by the remains discovered on the site, was established in the Neolithic period on the plateau occupied by the present Upper Town or Acropolis.

There were very favorable conditions for the development of a settlement here, and it seems that the site was later taken over by the Romans in the early 1st century AD. Then, this area with a legionary camp - castrum called Singidunum (the oldest known name for Belgrade) became part of the Roman Empire, whose northern frontier was demarcated by the Rivers Rhine and Danube.

One of theory is that the original name was Singidava in meaning Singi (celtic tribe) who gives, like gift from Singi's.

Belgrade of the Slavs

It was in the early Middle Ages, when Roman border towns were being destroyed by onslaughts from the north. The remaining inhabitants found refuge in the ruined castrum, which was hastily reinforced with material taken from destroyed buildings. Around this nucleus there grew up a fortified town, with a very mixed population, serving as a frontier post of the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium. With the Slavs in these regions, it lost its original name Singidunum. From the 9th century onwards, it appears under the Slav name of Beograd (the White town), starting to expand to the level ground beside the Danube. Sturdy walls and towers also protected this lower section of the fortification complex. The castle of the feudal lord was situated at the northwest corner of the Upper Town (some segments have been excavated on the spot).

Belgrade as the center of 'Serbian Renaissance'

Development of Belgrade in the 15th century and its transformation into a fortified mediaeval town took place during the reign of Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarevic. Choosing Belgrade to be the capital of his state, Stefan made it not only a defensive strongpoint of the country, but also its economic and cultural center. Archaeological research offers abundant information on the development of Belgrade in the period 1404-27. A general picture of the town and its fortifications can also be obtained from the notes of Stefan´s biographer, Constantine the Philosopher and a French author Bertrandon de la Broquere. From that superb period of Belgrade's history, one can see today: remains of double ramparts with towers and gates (in 1984 the vestiges of the so-called Little or West gate were discovered by archaeologists and the eastern Despot's gate still is in function), as well as some preserved ruins of the castle's entrance).

Belgrade as 'Antemurale Christianitatis'
(The Bastion of Christianity)
Until the death of Stefan Lazarevic in 1427, Belgrade constantly increased in size, augmented by new churches, hospitals, inns and other sizable buildings. But the town's further growth, now again under Hungarian rule, was hampered by the appearance of the Turks, who first besieged it in 1440. They made a further vein attempt to capture it in 1456, and finally succeeded only in 1521. During the time of the Ottoman Turks, the Upper Fortress as a town area gradually disappeared, being inhabited only by the army and representatives of the government. The Lower Fortress continued to be a trade and crafts center, but as time passed, trade too moved outside the walls. In the town beyond the walls, caravansary, inns, baths, fountains, mosques and other buildings have been erected, fundamentally altering the town's appearance. Work on the reconstruction of old fortifications began when the Austrian army headed by Maximillian of Bavaria captured the city in 1688.

Cornaro's reconstruction work

The Austrian occupation lasted only two years, for in 1690 Turks entered Belgrade again. In that brief period, however, various measures were taken to strengthen the defense of the fortress. The Venetian engineer Andrea Cornaro commissioned for this task made use of what was then a quite modern defense technique - bastion wall, and the medieval fortification took on a new appearance, that of an artillery fort. This work was also continued under Turkish rule for Cornaro, who had been in Austrian service, went over to the Turks and carried on the task. Generally speaking, the Cornaro's project of the fort's reconstruction, based on the model of Old-Dutch fortifications was not an up-to-date solution. A new type of artillery fortresses (introducing a series of bastions and various outworks, so-called Vauban's forts) was being built elsewhere at the time. Why Cornaro, as a good connoisseur of military architecture and its development at the time, did not apply more contemporary principles of fortification construction? Though the question still is an enigma, we can now only suppose that Cornaro, as a Christian employee of the Turkish army, intentionally worked to the detriment of Turkish military interests.

Builders in the role of a demolition squad

In 1717 the Austrians, led by Prince Eugene of Savoy, took Belgrade again and held it until 1739. In that period the medieval fortified town definitely disappeared and a modern Baroque artillery fortress was constructed on the same site. The reconstruction project (authored by Austrian Colonel of Swiss origin Nicolaus Doxat de Demoret) was carried out during the next 15 years. For its time that was a sturdy, modern and pretty extensive fortification of Vauban's type, in which high hopes were placed for the defense of Europe against the Turks. But soon, after the Austrian army had suffered several defeats, Austrian Belgrade surrendered to the Ottomans without fighting! Unfortunately, according to a clause of the armistice contract signed on that occasion, Austrians had the right to hand Belgrade over to Turkey under the condition that all new fortifications built after 1717, be destroyed. The demolition of the newly built Austrian fortifications lasted for almost six months.

The final appearance

One of the main tasks of the Turks, who settled once again in the Fortress, was to build a new artillery fortification in the same manner and according to architectural features of the destroyed Austrian fort. The construction works started by the end of 1740 and, with frequent interruptions lasted for almost two decades. Then, around 1760, Belgrade Fortress was given its final form, preserved until this date. The new Turkish fortress represented a restoration of demolished Austrian military structures, but in a very simplified way. Though quite similar to the foregoing fort, the new fortress had been constructed with numerous failings. Outer fortifications, as a crucial support to the defense of the main bastion front, were missed out. However, the defensive role of such fortifications started loosing any significance with the development of new war tactics and when the Serbian army succeeded the Turkish garrison in 1867, Belgrade Fortress was no longer an important strongpoint of defense.

The Fortress is the major archaeological and historic site in Belgrade today.


http://razgledanje.tripod.com/tvrdjava/exposition.htm
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http://razgledanje.tripod.com/tvrdjava/english.htm
http://razgledanje.tripod.com/tvrdjava/price.htm
http://razgledanje.tripod.com/tvrdjava/literatura.htm

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Belgrade was into Serbian rule as a part of the Kingdom of Syrmia in 1284. The first Serbian king to rule over Belgrade was Dragutin (1276-1282), the ruler of the Kingdom of Syrmia, who received it as a gift from his father-in-law, the Hungarian king Ladislav IV.[11]

"I cometh and found the noblest burgh from ancient times, the grand town of Belgrade, by sorry fate destroyed and nearly void. Having rebuilt it, I consecrated it to the Holy Mother of God".'

Despot Stefan Lazarevic on Belgrade in 1420 A.D.Following great losses at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371 and the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Serbian Empire began to crumble, the south being conquered by the Ottoman Empire.[12][13]

However, the north resisted in the form of the Serbian Despotate, which had Belgrade as its capital. The city flourished under Despot Stefan Lazarevic, son of the famous Serbian ruler Lazar Hrebeljanovic. Its ancient walls were refortified, along with its castles, harbours and churches, which helped the Despotate to avoid surrender to the Ottoman Turks for almost 70 years.

At that time Belgrade became a haven for many Balkan peoples escaping Ottoman control. It is thought that the city had a population of some 40-50,000 at this time. During the reign of Dj�uradj Branković, most of the Serbian Despotate fell to the Ottomans, but Belgrade itself invited in Hungarian kings for protection.[11]

The Ottomans, however, wanted to conquer Belgrade as it presented an obstacle to their further advance into central Europe. They attacked in 1456, leading to the famous Siege of Belgrade where the Christian army under John Hunyadi successfully defended the city from the Ottomans.[14]



The Siege of Belgrade in 1456, paint from 1584.y.



Siege of Belgrade 1456 (From a 15th century Turkish manuscript).

When a Turkish soldier in 1456. almost managed to pin the Sultan's flag on top of a bastion, a soldier named Titus Dugovic (Dugovics Titusz in Hungarian) grabbed him and together they plunged from the wall.

(For this heroism John Hunyadi's son, the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus made Titus's son a nobleman three years later.)



The heroism of Titus Dugovic, 19th century Hungarian painting



Battle of Belgrad, Hungarian painting from the 19. century. In the middle Giovanni da Capistrano with the cross in his hand.

http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?to...ge_of_Belgrade
http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?topic=Belgrade

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On 28 August 1521, the fort was captured by the Ottoman Empire. next 150 years or so it was a peaceful town, and the seat of the district. It attracted new traders and inhabitants - Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Ragusan traders, and others. It is thought that the city's population was around the 100,000 mark in the 17th century.

The Serbs in the Banat region started in 1594 a large uprising against Ottoman rule. Centre of this uprising was area around Vrshac, and its leader was Teodor Nestorovic, the bishop of Vrshac. Two other leaders of the uprising were Sava ban and voivod Velja Mironic.

The Serb rebels beared a flags with the image of Prince Rastko-Saint Sava, thus the rebellion had a character of a holy war. The Albanian Sinan-pasha that lead the Ottoman army ordered that green flag of Muhammad should be brought from Damascus to confront this flag to the Serbian flag with Saint Sava image. Furthermore, the Sinan-paša also burned the mortal remains of Saint Sava in Belgrade, as a revenge to the Serbs.



Turks burn the holy relics of St. Sava at Vracar in Belgrade 1594 - painting by Uros Predic

Serb rebellion in 1594 was crushed by the Turks, who burned churches and the relics (mortal remains) of Saint Sava on



the Vrach�ar plateau

Sinan Pasha, turkish grand vezier of albanian ethnicity, burns the relics of St. Sava at Vracar, Belgrade, 27.april 1594



Belgrade in the 16th century

Thrice occupied by Austria (1688-1690, 1717-1739, 1789-1791), it was quickly recaptured and substantially razed each time by the Ottomans.[15] During this period, the city was affected by the two Great Serbian Migrations, in which hundreds of thousands of Serbs, led by their patriarchs, retreated together with the Austrians into the Habsburg Empire in 1690 and 1737-39, settling in today's Vojvodina and Slavonia.[17]



Austrian siege (engraving) of Belgrade in 1717, during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18,

http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?topic=Belgrade
http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?topic=Banat_Uprising
http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?topic=Belgrade
http://www.halfvalue.com/wiki.jsp?to...ian_Migrations
http://www.kosovo.net/sava.html

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Present view of Belgrade fortress

East Gateway



Источна капија београдског Горњег града којег је деспот Стефан Лазаревић посебно утврдио. У њему су се налазили двор и ризница. Читав град, којег Константин Филозоф пореди са Јерусалимом, током 23 године био је својеврсан европски центар. Деспот Стефан у њему је подигао библиотеку, београдску Митрополију, пристаниште на Дунаву, цркву Успенија пречисте Владичице, цркву Свете Петке, болницу и прихватилиште за странце

Hidden road



На слици је "скривени пут" - специфичност Горњег града деспота Стефана Лазаревића. Реч је о међупростору између два бедема којим су комуницирали браниоци Београда. Разним повластицама и уступцима деспот је за 23 године колико је Београд био српска престоница, у њега довео многе богате и учене људе (Дубровчане, Млетке, Угре) који су са собом доносили сав свој материјални и духовни капитал.

Northeast wall ("bedem")



Североисточни бедем Горњег града о чијем настанку и приликама у њему пише деспотов биограф Константин Филозоф: "...И ко је кадар да писањем каже какав је положај, изглед и лепота (Београда)! Сазида (Стефан) и ипалксе многе за људе који живе унутра и напољу; за то се узвишење као за соломонско у Јерусалиму могло казати: од здања сенка падаше по околини (као од) вавилонских крепких узвишених врата..."

Northeast tower



Средњовековна кула као део фортификације на граду Стефана Лазаревића. Захваљујући српској школи градитељства с краја XИВ и почетком XВ века (Лазарев Крушевац и Раваница), која је применила систем двојних бедема и протеихисми (спољни, низи бедеми) Београд је издржао две велике опсаде: 1440. и 1456. године. Чврстоћа деспотових бедема задржала је турски продор у средњу Европу за готово сто година.

Zidan Gateway (Zid=wall)



More pics here and here.

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Belgrade 1720.

Belgrade 1735-1739




Belgrade 1789



Belgrade 1876

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