RAM FORTRESS This fortress is among the oldest in Serbia - with records dat- ing back to the early 12 th century - though no one knows pre- cisely when it was built… What is certain is that it has a very tur- bulent and interesting history, and that it was fought over by the Hungarians, Byzantines and Ottoman Turks. The view from the fortress is so magnificent and relaxing that it is actually linked to a legend about the emergence of Ram. It is believed that it was right here, where the Danube is at its shallowest and makes a great meander, that once mighty Turkish Sultan Bayezid II spread out his ihram praying rug so he could rest and enjoy the view. Sitting there on his rug, he is said to have fallen asleep, on- ly to awaken reborn a few hours later. And thus he issued the order to build a fortress on the hill where he had sat on his rug, which was named ihram after the Turkish word for a prayer mat. BAČ FORTRESS In the Danube basin stands the red, beautiful and “proud” Bač Fortress, an enduring, centuries-old, impregnable guardian of the Vojvodina plain, after which the entire fertile region of Bač- ka, between the Danube and Tisza, is named. Leading to the fortress from the town of Bač are winding streets, a pedestri- an extension bridge and the Šijak Gate, and conforming that you’re unmistakably in the right place is the dungeon tower, which offers an incredible view from the top that is particular- ly magical during sunsets. This site emerged in the form we know today in the 14 th century, during the reign of King Charles Robert of Anjou. However, various fortifications have exist- ed on the same site since the 6 th century, so Bač Fortress has survived and outlived numerous armies... The Danube is at its widest near Donji Milanovac. Just a few kilometres from this city is the section of the great river called the Veliki and Mali Kazan [Large and Small Cauldron]. The Danube reaches a depth of as much as 90 metres in the area of the Large Cauldron, while it achieves a width of 300 metres in the Small Cauldron. Another interesting site on the Danube is situated near Negotin. This is Prahovo, where the Ger- mans sank dozens of their ships during World War II to prevent them from falling into the hands of the So- viets. When the water level of the Danube falls suffi- ciently, some of these ships emerge from the depths. Creepy and impressive. And let’s conclude by returning to the beginning, to the wonderful tavern song with a chorus that will forever resonate in this area… And the song goes: “Dan- ube, Danube, beside you my heart remains…” Or, in the words of Zvonko Bogdan: “Quietly, quietly flows the blue Danube, and the old clock still ticks on the for- tress, time passes, and we pass slowly with it. If only it stopped once, at least for a moment…” But time flows mercilessly and pays no heed to man’s desire to settle for a moment. Like time, the Danube also journeys unwa- veringly, a witness to our turbulent history, to our un- breakable connection with the past, but also a witness proving that everything flows and everything changes.
represented one of the most significant discoveries of its kind on the territory of Serbia. The Lepenski Vir cul- ture, which dates back about 8,000 years, represented a complete unknown to archaeologists. People lived on this site in continuity for about 2,000 years, and dur- ing that time they traversed an evolutionary route from hunter-gatherers to an organised socioeconomic com- munity. The stone sculptures that represented their de- ities have become a recognisable sign of Lepenski Vir around the entire world and the oldest artworks of this kind in Europe. It is also along this part of the Danube that you will see Diana, an ancient fortified town located just down- stream from the Đerdap I hydroelectric power plant. And then we reach the aforementioned Trajan’s Bridge, a monumental structure and one of the symbols of the Iron Gates Gorge. Built at the behest of Roman emper- or Trajan, the bridge was 1,097 metres in length, mak- ing it the longest bridge in the world for almost a thou- sand years. Today, unfortunately, not many remains of this structure exist. Trajan’s plaque, Tabula Traiana, is another symbol of Đerdap. However, the Roman road on which the plaque stood was flooded during the con- struction of the Đerdap hydroelectric power plant, which is why Trajan’s plaque was repositioned to stand 21.5 metres above its original location.
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