BAČ FORTRESS

Significance:
Certainly, the most important fortress in Bačka is the one that the region between the Tisa river and the Danube was named after.
Bač is cited in the sources as Civitatis Bachiensis in 1351. and 1464, but also as Oppidum Bach in 1433, 1466, 1474, then as Castrum Bachiense in 1491, 1492, 1493.
This "water town" is comprised of the Suburbium (lower town) with the tower and the entrance gate (so-called "Spike"), barbican, and the fortified castle.
It is located within the former meander of the Mostonga River, a tributary of the Danube. Continuity of settlement of this high elevation in the wider zone of the Danube can be traced from prehistory to the late Middle Ages. The trench-shaped fortress existed at the beginning of our era, but its builders cannot be reliably identified. In 535, Bač became the seat of the archbishopric. The early established church organizations in this area and the Christianisation may have had an impact on the status and appearance of the fortress. Brothers Ćirilo and Metodije moved from Thessaloniki in 863 by land across Bačka to Moravia to convert Slavs into Christianity.
If Metodije indeed carried out his activity in Bač, this would have had a direct impact on its construction, under its religious center status. In literature, it is considered that there was a fortress in Bač, in 873, and that it was ruled by the Avars and consisted of trenches.
After the invasion of the Hungarians and the formation of the Hungarian state, the sources have been silent about Bač for a long time. At the end of his reign, Stephen I of Hungary founded a county whose seat was in Bač, and it is believed that he restored and strengthened the ruins of the former fortress, adding palisade.
Bač was first mentioned in 1071.
The fact that King Géza II of Hungary spent Easter of 1158 speaks for the importance of Bač as a town.
Even in the 12th century, Bač was protected by water, and that is shown by the fact that the money of king Stephen IV of Hungary was found in the moats. Because he reigned only one year, the time frame in which this money could have reached Bač is limited. Remains of pottery from the same period were also found. In the middle of the 12th century, Bač was depicted twice. One description of Bač comes from the Arab cartographer and geographer Abu Abdallah Muhammad al-Idrizi, and the second from Jovan Kinam in 1164, who mentions it in connection with the Byzantine-Hungarian conflict. None of the authors, however, mentioned the Bač fortress. The first mention of the fortress (burg) with its Suburbium (lower town) in Bač dates back to 1192.
At the end of the 12th century, the prefect of Bač was Kalojan Anđeo. He was the son of Margarita and Isac II Anđeo, and the grandson of Bela III from his mothers' side. The great invasion of the Mongols in 1241 led to the destruction of many towns, including Bač. The Hungarian king Bela IV encouraged the construction of walls around the boroughs, thus making the fortified towns. In his letter, Pope Innocent IV invites archbishops of Esztergom and Kalocsa with their clergy and the flock to help build the fortresses along the Danube. The importance of Bač is also evident in the fact that the heir to the Hungarian throne, Stefan, declared Bač his town in 1267. The fortress also housed a cathedral as well as the residence of the archbishop and the canon.
However, most authors believe that the first certain mention of the fortress in Bač dates back to the time of King Charles Robert I, the first one from the house of Anjou. He took over the fortress in 1338, expanded it, and was fortifying it for four years. Then, at the request of Pope Benedict XII, he returned it in 1342 to the archdiocese of Kalocsa. The Hungarian ruler justified this action before the Pope with the need to protect himself from the schismatic king - as he called the Serbian Orthodox king Stefan Dušan. It was built as a royal estate under the influence of the French school and marked with two Hungarian coats of arms carved into a stone lintel on the southwest facade of the donjon tower.
After the collapse of the Serbian medieval state, the line of defense of Christianity was moved to the north. In 1457, the archbishop of Kalocsa, Stefan Vardai, received permission from King Ladislaus the Posthumous to build a castle and a fortress. The construction lasted until 1467. King Matthias Corvinus established a defensive belt against the Turks in the Danube region in the form of a line of fortifications. It is noted that in the spring of 1463 the king stayed in Bač and Futog and visited the army gathering places for the war in the south. In 1494 Vladislaus II of Hungary declared Bač a royal city - civitas - and exempted the population from paying duties and taxes to the great prefect. Several times the king stayed in Bač as a guest of Peter I Varadi, archbishop of Kalocsa, who in 1490 began the renovation of the fortress in line with the development of the city, now in privileged conditions. After the conclusion of the truce between Hungary and Turkey, starting in 1495, Peter I Varadi spent the next year and a half deepening the Mostonga riverbed. He achieved the necessary expansions of the water surfaces to draw the enemy away from the fortress. At this time, the construction and renovation of the interior began. The residential tower was renovated and sewage was built on each floor. This wastewater flowed into one pit. Architectural decorations in terracotta were found during the archeological excavations. Those can be compared only with the Italian decorations of that time. The residence of the archbishop was completed in the fortified castle shortly before Varadi's death in 1501. The state assemblies of 1464, 1499, and 1518 were also held there. In the fall of 1500, during negotiations with Venice over the extension of the war with Turkey, Vladislaus II of Hungary gathered an army in Bač and inspected it in front of Venetian envoys and other diplomats. The army numbered 10,000 royal cavalrymen and 2,000 noble cavalrymen, including the Serbian despot Jovan Branković. In 1520 Erdelji Božidar and Mikloš were appointed commanders of the fortress. According to the census conducted after the death of Gregory Frankopan, between 1504 and 1520 the crew consisted of a commander and 4 guards. The last to carry out the reconstruction just before the Battle of Mohács in 1526 was the archbishop of Kalocsa, Pavle Tomorij. Through these activities, the fortress received openings and a barbican following the more significant introduction of artillery in warfare. After the Battle of Mohács, its castellan was Jovan Dolić from Irig, who belonged to the circle of despotess Jelena, wife of Jovan Branković, and Ivaniš Berislavić.
The fortresses in Bač (Latin Bachia) and Subotica were depicted on Lazarus' map of Hungary from 1528. They are represented by a vignette of the Gothic fortification type with a dominant donjon tower and lower corner towers. Immediately before falling under Turkish rule in 1526, it belonged to Emperor Jovan Nenad and successively, of despot Stevan Berislavić. When the Turks conquered Petrovaradin on July 15, 1526, they reached Bač. In the autumn of the same year, the Sultan came to Bač with his army and set it on fire. The Turks occupied it without a fight in 1529 and stayed in it until 1687. During the Turkish era, a garrison of the army was always ready to fight in the fortress. For a while, it was run by Ivan Zapolja. It was also the seat of the nahia. There is an important description of Bačka fortress by travel writer Evliya Çelebi made in 1665, during the Turkish rule. According to him, Bač is 8 hours away from Sombor in the southeast, and to get there, one has to travel through the endless plain. Thrilled, he calls it "Hungarian Vienna". He notes that the seat of the Szeged sanjak bey is in the Eğri Eyalet. It is in the rank of kadiluk of 150 akçe. It contains the mufti, the sheriff's representative, the city dizdar as well as the kehaya, the serdar of the janissaries of Buda, and Eğri, the market overseer, the bajdar, the customs commissioner, the tribute commissioner, and the construction manager. The garrison of the fortress consists of eighty soldiers since the fortress is not located on the border. He states that the fortress is located on the lake and was built of bricks. On the west side, there is a gate and a suspension bridge over the moat. On both sides of the bridge, there are two large towers whose strength stands out. On the towers, there are eight defensive cannons. Above the city gate, there are two towers under domed roofs. In the fortress itself, there are houses of dizdars, kehayas, imams, and muezzins. In the large tower in the center of the fortress, there is a guarded dungeon. Near this tower was the Sulejman's Mosque, and the fortress also had drainage pipes due to the underwater soil. It notes another large tower overlooking the lake with a resort comparable to the royal one. It indicates that it is a castle where all enlightened and sincere friends of the city gather to rest and have fun. Of the weapons in the tower, high cannons are protecting it from all four sides. It indicates that the enemy can be seen from a great distance. The area of the fortress and its surroundings is seven hundred steps.
After the Austrian army entered Bač in 1689, it became a permanent military base, consisting of immigrants from Bosnia, whose captain was Đuro Vidaković. He also had a house in the fortress. The last preserved appearance of the fortress before its demolition was created in 1698. It can be seen in the map collection of the Vienna War Military Archives. During the uprising of 1704, Rakoci's troops burned down the fortress, and in 1705 the imperial military commander Fluck finished it off. On the map of 1821, the fortress of Bač is drawn with a clearly defined pentagonal base. On the appeal of Prefect Jožef Rudić, in 1842 Archbishop Klobusiczki ordered further decline of the fortress to be stopped. The fortress in Bač has the base of an irregular pentagon with corner towers connected by rampart walls. In the central part, there is a donjon tower, also called a keep. Excavations have confirmed the existence of a residential palace with strong columns and buttresses between the tower with balcony and the tower with a chapel, cisterns next to the donjon tower, and the existence of an entrance tower with obstacles in the form of barbican drawbridges at the entrance to the fortress. The material used for the construction is mostly brick, while the stone was used only for certain elements, such as consoles of defensive balconies, lintels, ribs of ribbed vaults. The donjon tower has a square base with five floors: ground floor, three floors, and the observatory in the attic.
Bač Fortress is a very important multi-layered historical site. The fortified castle complex with the Suburbium is located on a sharp and deep former meander of the Mostonga River, on elevated ground that was once surrounded by water.
Today, the historical ambiance has changed considerably.
Construction of the hydro-engineering system Danube-Tisa-Danube channeled the riverbed, leaving the fortress and Suburbium without a water table.
The fortress can now be reached from the direction of Bač via a concrete pedestrian bridge, passing through the town gate and the Bačka fortress road, turning to the north at the last row of houses and across the earthen ramp at the site of the former drawbridge, only to find yourself in the fortified castle. Vehicular access to the fortress is from the Bač - Vajska road, where the mighty edifice of brick with its donjon tower dominates the fertile plains of Bačka.
Legal status: Bač Fortress was placed under state protection based on the Decision of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia No. 1175/48 of July 30, 1948. Bač Fortress with its Suburbium, Bačka Fortress road, is classified as a cultural property, and as a spatial-cultural-historical whole of extraordinary importance ("Official Gazette of RS" No. 16/90).
Brief history: The time of construction of the preserved fortress buildings has not been sufficiently clarified to date. The area on which the spatial entity is located is an important archaeological site. Under the foundations of the visible walls of the fortified castle, there was a settlement from the Late Neolithic period - six millennia ago. It existed through the Bronze, Early Iron, and in the La Tène culture and there is evidence of the presence of the Celts in the period of late antiquity in the 3rd and 4th century. The first phase of construction refers to the period 1338-1342 and the Hungarian King Charles Robert of Anjou. In the mid-15th century, intensive construction and adaptation to new war techniques began as part of strengthening the southern border against the Turkish invasion.
Istvan Vardai and Peter Varadi were notable people of that time, whose bishop’s residences were located within the walls. They were responsible for the construction and development of the complex. The Turks conquered the fort in 1529 and used it until the liberation in 1686, as evidenced by the description of Evliya Çelebi The fortress was blown up during the Rákóczi uprising at the beginning of the 18th century. The houses in the Suburbium were built in the second half of the 18th century.

Summary: The base of the fortified castle is an irregular pentagon with protruding towers at the corners, which were connected by extensive rampart walls. The three preserved corner towers have a round base, while the northwest and entrance towers, found during archaeological excavations, have a square base. The only free-standing building within the fort is a square-based donjon tower in the eastern part of the complex.

Although the masonry structure of the fortified castle lost its physical integrity to a great extent after the blasting, the preserved elements point to the universal value of the architecture and testify to the application of the developed high Gothic fortification school with the elements of the early Italian Renaissance.
Results:
The research, conservation, and rehabilitation of the Bač fortress began or, better yet, continued in 2003 after a long hiatus. The observed problems and accumulated experiences were the core around which the project “Centuries of Bač“ developed. It later served as a kind of research laboratory - on how to preserve and use the heritage without compromising its fundamental values.
In the circumstances of the lack of archival material and the high degree of deterioration and degradation of the materials used for the construction of Bač Fortress, the extensive research proved to be extraordinarily significant and justified.
However, it is important to point out that the newly acquired knowledge has not changed the approach to the protection and presentation of medieval structures, which over time have lost more than 60% of their original structure, hence justifying the museum presentation of the cultural property.
The research and its impact on the conservation treatment are represented in individual buildings of the Bač Fortress, where a special place belongs to the Donjon Tower. A certain distinction is made between masonry structures preserved underground (exempt from the treatment of visible remains). Activities related to the rehabilitation of the complex are also presented, which created the conditions for sustainable use of the fortress.

THE DONJON TOWER
The donjon tower is the most dominant and the only building out of the whole complex of Bač Fortress that was restored. That indicates its former power, monumentality, and beauty. According to its shape and size of the base (about 10m x 10 m), it belongs to the rarer types of square donjon towers without buttresses, which are among the oldest types of masonry residential donjon, derived from the shape of wooden towers. Bač donjon is located in the center of the most defended area, erected independently from the ramparts, which were the main feature of Western European fortifications. It is the main tower, most likely used only for a temporary stay in case of danger, for which it was fully equipped (fireplace, food storage, well, toilets on all floors, machicolations on the top floor). Its height and position allowed the observation of a vast territory and the road network that led to Bač.
The tower welcomed the new millennium and new conservators without floors and parts of the beams of the mezzanine structures that disappeared in the fire of 1993, as well as with severely damaged remaining beams and a roof structure at risk of falling. There was a lack of data on previous interventions that required additional research and the application of different documentation and mapping methods. In addition to the shape of the roof, other shapes reconstructed in the 1960s were re-examined. However, they did not provide arguments for changing the shapes.

Conservation
The conservation and restoration work on the Donjon Tower began as an intervention, as the roof structure had to be repaired. The shape of the roof was restored as it had been before, and the roof structure was reinforced with another set of rafters and diagonal beams, improving the support zone. The cross-sections of the elements of the roof structure were expanded, the material was hand-hewn, which, with the use of old wooden and wrought iron trusses, contributed to the uniqueness of the ambiance of the attic. The roof was covered with old beaver tiles, and a metal banner was placed on top.
Extensive conservation and restoration work was carried out inside, removing all the damages and issues caused by the fire, when the interior of the tower had been destroyed and the old materials further damaged. The mezzanine structures were reconstructed according to the information found in situ. Beams and floors were made of oak wood.

Under the conditions of authentic materials degradation, as well as of those used during the reconstruction, the knowledge about the old and selection of new conservation materials was of particular importance. Tests of authentic mortar material in the interior and on the facade were also carried out.

The “Centuries of Bač” conservators' signature was left, among other things, in the design of wooden shutters, the banner, the doors, the floors, the window niches with seats. Elements whose shape or position could not be substantiated were given stylistically neutral shapes and materialization, as is the case with the entrance door to the tower on the courtyard level. This door was retained for practical reasons as it had been used for quite a long time, although it is known that the main entrance had been on higher floors.

Particular attention is paid to the safety measures for public use of the facility. Careful management of modern installations does not compromise the authenticity and historic ambiance of the tower. The application of ancient techniques and craftsmanship: masonry, blacksmithing, carpentry, was significant in this demanding undertaking, including the popularization of old crafts and occasional training. In this way, besides the publication of articles in scientific papers and specialized magazines, the knowledge, and skills acquired during the conservation treatment of the Bač Fortress were shared with the public.

The Use

The works on the Donjon tower created conditions for its public use in a modern way and its inclusion in the cultural and tourist offer of Bač and the surrounding area. Today, the Donjon tower is available for use for various purposes, with its permanent exhibition of the archaeological material on two levels. The second level exhibits stone fragments and terracotta, whilst the fourth level showcases ceramics, metal and glass objects. The semi-basement holds all the archaeological material from the dig. Especially valuable is the ambiance of the room with fireplace, where numerous meetings (workshops, seminars, promotions, exhibitions) of experts and students from Serbia and abroad were held, as well as heritage programs. Especially exciting is the visit to the observation deck below the impressive roof structure, which allows a wide view of the plain. The tower has become a popular destination for film crews and tourist visits. The cultural, historical, and socio-economic values of the tower as cultural heritage are intertwined here in the best possible way.

U N V E I L I N G T H E L A Y E R S O F T H E P A S T

The above-ground built structures in the southern part of the fortified castle had almost completely disappeared. This part of the complex had always been the focal point of armed conflicts and destruction. But there were also those who dismantled and destroyed it in peacetime in search of buried treasures. The locals used the original bricks for building their houses, and the stone for making lime, systematically destroying all the information on architecture and the builders' creativity. Thanks to the “Centuries of Bač", the built structures situated below the terrain elevation were gradually unveiled in archaeological excavations and then protected from further degradation, presented, and revived through use. The preserved above-ground structures were treated according to research findings, the information found in situ, and the available funding.

The Cistern

The Fortified Castle Gate Tower

The South and South-West Ramparts

Research of the remains of the barbican and a bridge

The remains of the barbican and a bridge have been conserved and restored to preserve the original structures and to present this element of the defense. Here, a symbolic entrance to the complex was placed with a wooden gateway. The issue of remedial and conservation treatment of the above-ground structure of the barbican remains is still unresolved and today they still stand shapeless. The terrain has been lowered significantly relative to its original elevation, so parts of the foundation on the east side are no longer in contact with the terrain. Of course, research and technical protection should continue, taking into account Horvath's viewpoint that the Barbican is the most interesting structure in the entire complex.

T R E A T M E N T O F B U I L T S T R U C T U R E S

In addition to Donjon, the monumental nature of the Bač Fortress medieval structures can be observed by the visible remains of the Square Tower, the Chapel Tower, and the Round Tower with stone corbels, as well as the ramparts that used to connect them all. These masonry structures belonged to the specially defended northern and northeastern parts of the complex. The complex was also comprised of a large hall, a public room, a kitchen with its ancillary rooms, today preserved in the form of underground archaeological remains. Restoring the integrity of these built structures, which have been in a state of ruin since 1704, was a complex task, as they are still exposed to adverse microclimatic factors and living organisms. In the 2009-2015 period, as part of the “Centuries of Bač Project”, comprehensive and extensive multidisciplinary investigations were conducted, which added substantially to the overall knowledge about the fortress individual structures, the chronology and the methods of their construction, and the causes of both structure and material degradation. The measures carried out included preventive conservation and restoration intending to consolidate vulnerable zones so that the complex could be used safely.
The Chapel Tower

The North Square Tower

The Round Tower with Corbels

Eastern and North-Eastern Rampart

T R E A T M E N T O F T H E S U B U R B I U M

The research aimed at treating the suburbium complex and its architectural heritage.
To prepare the Conservation Study of this cultural and historical complex, field research was carried out, including the background, the origin of the population, dwelling and building culture. Questionnaires were prepared, and subjects filled them up while talking to the interviewers. Valuable material was collected in the form of old photographs. A technical survey of all homestead areas was carried out - the ground plans and the house street façades. In some of the houses that had kept their authentic shape, the backyard façades were also recorded, as well as the cross-sections and characteristic details (façade decorations and the joinery), creating a database for (re) valorization and setting the conservation requirements guidelines.

The activities for the research of the suburbium and the development of the planning documentation were carried out in 2007 through a partnership with the Italians in the project of Local Development based on the heritage valuation as a part of the project I.Ne.P.S. The idea for the creation of the Color Plan came about as a result of experience sharing with the Italian partner - the Territorial Pact of L'Alto Belice Corleonese from Sicily - about safeguarding and arranging the cultural and historic complexes. Simultaneously, with the development of the Color Plan, the design of the preliminary project was carried out for one of the houses in Bac Fortress Street. House No. 12 was chosen. From 2006, it had been owned by the Cultural and Historical Heritage Preservation Fund Centuries of Bač. The house was in a dilapidated state, it had been abandoned for more than two decades. The opportunity to start the renovation was viewed as the beginning of the revitalization process of the Suburbium. After studying and considering the role and needs in the revitalization of this spatial cultural and historical entity, it was decided to build a new facility at the back of the site - a multipurpose center. Foundation was made for a traditional house replica, and its construction would be a chance for reviving the old crafts, for training, and for popularisation of the environmental aspect in using the local raw materials.