Fetislam

Fetislam is a fortification situated a few kilometers upstream from the town of Kladovo, on the right bank of the Danube in Serbia. It has a status of a cultural monument of great importance in the Republic of Serbia.

The fortress is located on a settlement called Novigrad ("New Town"). With the erection of Fetislam the Turkish defense line towards Hungary was completed and this line was made of fortresses in Smederevo, Kulič, Ram, Golubac and Fetislam. The last one was composed from two parts: the Smaller and the Greater town.

The Smaller town was erected around 1524 as a starting point of Turkish assaults on Transylvania. During the Austro-Turkish wars (1716–1718 and 1737–1739) the Smaller Town acquires strategic importance, thus the Greater Town was erected around it. Later around 1818 the dirt-built ramparts were topped with curtain walls. After the last reconstruction Fetislam was turned into an artillery bastion. The whole complex of this fortress was surrounded with a still visible deep and wide trench, which used to be filled with water from a Danube's branch.

The Turkish garrison stayed up until 1867, when Fetislam was handed over to the Serbian prince Mihajlo Obrenović along with six other cities.

Fetislam went through extensive renovations that completed in 2023. The entrance gates, lagoons, summer stage, and ramparts have been renovated. Additionally, a modern visitor center now connects the Smaller and Greater towns and houses exhibitions available to visitors.

Text adapted from “Fetislam” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fetislam ranks #2,987 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #17 of the 25 mapped in Serbia. Founded 1524, it is older than 42% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 687 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. See how Serbia compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗