Bulgaria · 14th century
The Belogradchik Fortress (Bulgarian: Белоградчишка крепост, Belogradchishka krepost), also known as Kaleto (Калето, "the fortress" from Turkish kale), is an ancient fortress located on the north slopes of the Balkan Mountains (Old Mountain), close to the northwestern Bulgarian town of Belogradchik and is the town's primary cultural and historical tourist attraction, drawing, together with the Belogradchik Rocks, the main flow of tourists into the region. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance.
The fortress's walls are over 2 metres (6.6 ft) thick in the foundation and reaching up to 12 m (39 ft) in height. Three separate fortified yards exist that are connected with each other through gates. The fortress has a total area of 10,210 square metres (109,900 sq ft). The Belogradchik Fortress was reconstructed to later become a proclaimed cultural monument. It is managed by the local historical museum authority.
Text adapted from “Belogradchik Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Belogradchik Fortress ranks #817 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 26 mapped in Bulgaria. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 55% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,147 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. See how Bulgaria compares in the castle statistics.
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