Kurvingrad
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
Kurvingrad | |
---|---|
Location | Klisura (Doljevac), 18000 , Serbia |
Coordinates | 43°13′17″N 21°50′41″E / 43.22139°N 21.84472°E |
Kurvingrad (
History
An important defensive advantage of the location was its inaccessible mountainous terrain, with a clear view of the valley and the river, protected from attack from the rear by an even higher mountain, Seličevica. Because of its strategic location, during the Roman Empire it served as part of the tower defenses of the Via Militaris Roman military road. The city was still an important military point at the time of the Byzantine Empire, with the name of Kompolos.
In the mid-6th century, Emperor Justinian I built thirty-two new forts and restored seven forts in the region of his birth. He also built a number of castles, so that the population had a place of refuge in case of a barbarian attack on the Danube. It is possible that the restored castle was ad Herculum i Calis. Calis later could have been incorrectly written Komplos, and it is quite possible that it served as the northern defense for Justiniana Prima.[3]
The old city fortification of Koprijan was built at the time of
The document of the
In 1451, the Ottoman Empire occupied Kurvingrad, 70 years after the fall of Niš. The Ottoman population census in 1498 mentioned Kurvingrad village with 40 households. By 1498, the village of Kurvingrad had only 20 households.[3] In 1516, Nišava District was affected by a plague, which caused the population to further decline.
Travel writer Ami Bue mentioned the ruins of this city in the first half of the 19th century.[4]
The remains of the fortress were repeatedly used as building material for the construction of Niš Fortress.[5]
In the 20th century, materials from the ruins were also used by the local population as building materials.[6]
In 1933, there was a stone church building on the site, of a Moravian type construction.
During World War I, the site was used by the German command in their defensive front against the Serbian army which was moving rapidly, advancing to the north in October 1918. Despite its strong position, the German front could not be held because the Serbian army came over the top of Seličevica and found themselves behind the Germans, who left Niš without a fight.
Stone inscription from Niš Fortress
In 1933, researchers examining
Researchers were unsure where the panel came from. The stone was located next to the other stones, as well as other unused building materials and it is believed that the stone came there in one of the later
It is not certain whether the medieval Koprijan is actually today the site of Kurvingrad, or whether the Byzantine fortress near Nis was Calis, and then incorrectly spelled as Komplos. The Byzantine fortress lost its significance in 1372 when Koprijan was finished.[3]
Timeline
- 1020: Charter of Basil II, Komplos.
- 1372: Border city Serbian Despotate, Koprijan.
- 1413: Musa, son of Bajazet, occupied the city and returned it to Stefan Lazarević.
- 1443: City taken by the Ottoman Empire
- 1444: City restored to Đurađ Branković
- 1451: City more permanently taken in conquest by the Ottoman Empire
- 1918: The location was used a base for the German military command.[3]
Origin of the name
There are several
According to another, more commonly held legend, a wealthy lady from the town loved to make nighttime visits to nearby Monastery of St. John at Orljane allegedly for prayer, but actually for the romantic relations with the priest. Legend has it that a girl stretched canvas at night time from the town to the church in which she was baptised.[6]
Alternately, the derogatory name applied during the Ottoman invasion, when Koprijan fell, as the Ottomans had a habit of giving Serbian medieval cities derogatory names. Also the word can be read in two ways in Ottoman Turkish.[3]
Finally, there is a belief that the name originates as a reference to the name of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, though there is insufficient historical evidence that Hungary controlled this region during his rule.
Fort appearance and features
Kurvinggrad village belonged to the
Kurvingrad today
Today ruins remain. In the past, residents of surrounding villages destroyed the remains of the fort, and used many of its stones to build their own homes. By the decision of the republic's Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, in November 1947, this historical monument was declared a general people's cultural property, and placed under the protection of the state, along with its surroundings.[3][8]
Today the north and east ramparts with towers remain well-preserved. The western rampart no longer exists, while on the south side, little remains of the surviving tower. Rampart Little City is barely discernible, and all that is left from the "Donzon tower" is a larger pile of stones. The main city gates are destroyed, while the tower which protected the main gate is preserved only in fragments. Within the Small Town are the remains of a square building that was probably used as a cistern, while around the town people can see the remains of the dried trench.
References
- ^ Историјски архив Ниш: „ДЕТАЉНИ ПОПИС НАХИЈЕ НИШ ИЗ 1516. ГОДИНЕ“ (in Serbian). Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine HISTORICAL ARCHIVE NIŠ , Retrieved 10 April 2013
- ^ a b spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs Official website, Retrieved 23 January 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h Arheologija, archaeology article, Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ srednjevekovni-grad-koprijan Medieval town Koprijan article, Retrieved 20 January 2014
- ^ koprijan.html Archived 2013-12-26 at the Wayback Machine koprijan article , Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ a b Radio+Beograd rts.rs - Official website, Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ koprijan-kurvingrad Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, Kurvingrad article, Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ^ Zasijaće-Lazareva-tvrđava-Doljevac-uređuje-izletište-Koprijan-planirana-izgradnja-sportskih-terena-i-bungalova, Retrieved 21 January 2014