Bulgaria · 10th century
Ustra Fortress ranks #5,315 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #24 of the 26 mapped in Bulgaria. Founded c. 950, it is older than 92% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 192 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. See how Bulgaria compares in the castle statistics.
Ustra (Bulgarian: Устра) is a medieval fortress in the eastern Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria. It is among the highest and best preserved fortifications in the mountain range. The fortress was controlled by the Byzantine and the Bulgarian Empires until the region was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the second half of the 14th century.
Ustra Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after the fortress.
Text adapted from “Ustra” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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