- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1335 · 14th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Coordinates
- 44.6612°, 21.6785°
History
The stronghold on the rocks above the Danube, where the river enters the Iron Gates gorge, appears in the sources in 1335 as a Hungarian border fortress; its builders are unknown. In the 14th and 15th centuries it changed hands repeatedly between Hungarians, Serbs and Ottomans. In 1427, after the death of Despot Stefan Lazarević, Golubac was due to pass to Hungary, but its commander, Voivode Jeremija, demanded a payment and, when refused, handed the fortress to the Turks. In the spring of 1428 King Sigismund of Luxembourg besieged Golubac with Polish knights in his army. During the retreat before Sultan Murad II's relief force, Zawisza the Black of Garbów, covering the river crossing, was captured and killed. The Ottomans held the fortress, with short interruptions, until 1867, when they handed it to Serbia, and between 2014 and 2019 it was thoroughly restored.
What to see
The fortress cascades in walls and ten towers from a rocky ridge down to the Danube, whose level rose after the Iron Gates dam was built and flooded its lowest parts. Since the restoration visitors can walk through the successive courtyards and climb several towers, including the tallest, with views over the wide river to the Romanian bank. A visitor centre at the entrance tells the fortress's story.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q2625461
Popularity: articles about this site in 24 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).