BAČ

The Centre of Renaissance Humanism

The fortress of Bač is the most important and best-preserved mediaeval fortification in the Vojvodina region. It is situated in the town of Bač, at the time a very significant political centre, and the whole county and plains between the Danube and the Tisa rivers are named Bačka after it. The fortress was built on a former island between the Mostonga River and one of its branches. Although not directly positioned on the Danube, from ancient times it represented an important link along the whole Danube watercourse, as it was situated in its drainage basin and immediate proximity. Aside from its status as one of the most remarkable fortifications in the Kindom of Hungary, the famous town of Bač was also well known as one of the Renaissance Humanism centres in this part of Europe.

ABOVE: Map of the site

ABOVE: The fortress of Bač is still defying time

First written records of the city of Bač date from 535. A.D., from the period of Emperor Justinian I, who mentioned it in one of his letters. In 873. A.D., the Hungarians invaded the Panonska Nizija (Pannonian Plain) and conquered Bač, which was an earthen Avar fortress at the time. Hungarians placed the seat of the archdiocese in Bač, and during the reign of the Arpadović dynasty, it became a royal city, frequently visited by the nobility and numerous European rulers. In 1241, Bač was devastated by the Mongols. The formation of the present-day fortress appearance is attributed to the period between 1338 and 1342, when Hungarian King Charles I of Hungary strengthened southern state borders to reduce the danger from Serbian Emperor Dušan. The fortress took its final shape in the 15^th century, that is, between 1495 and 1501, when its construction was finished by the Archbishop Petar Varadi, a scientist, humanitarian, and art lover. On that occasion, he widened the riverbed of Mostonga, allowing ships from the Danube to approach the fortress. Bač fell into Turkish hands for the first time after the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. The self-proclaimed Emperor Jovan Nenad managed briefly to reconquer it, but the Ottomans occupied it again in 1529 and stayed there for the next century and a half. The city did not endure any damages during its liberation from the Ottomans in 1686, but it was not reconstructed afterwards, leading to its decay over time.

ABOVE LEFT AND RIGHT: The central 18-meter-high tower represents the distinctive symbol of the Bač Fortress

The fortress of Bač is one of the so-called water towns, as it was surrounded by a river, with access provided by a drawbridge leading through the entrance tower with a gate. Two-meter-wide and 12-meter-high ramparts, with pathways for archers at the top, connected five protruding defensive towers and fortified a trapezoid area of 8700 square meters, shaped to fit the terrain. Inside the ramparts, there was a fortified castle surrounded by water, residential and other palaces, a well, a cistern, grain pits, and various economic objects, all constructed of bricks. Particularly striking were the round tower with balconies supported by stone consoles, the tower with a Gothic chapel on the upper floor, and the keep with a square foundation, considered as one of the most beautiful late mediaeval examples in this part of Europe. Today, the remains of the fortress include four side towers and one partially reconstructed 18-meter-high central tower.

ABOVE: Today, the dried-up bottom of the Mostonga River is covered in bulrush

From the Journals of Travel Writers

In the middle of the 12^th century, the town of Bač was so famous that Arab geographer al-Idrisi added it to Roger’s world map, describing it as a place with „markets, trade stores, craftsmen, and Greek scholars”. Along with Kovin, it was a major export centre and densely populated town with numerous buildings where „people live in abundance on vast rural estates”.

At the beginning of the 15^th century, the Archbishop of Bač wrote in one of his letters: „We can enjoy in the cleanest Danube water, and if Narcissus were alive, he would gaze at his reflection in the water in delight!”

Evliya Çelebi also described the fortress of Bač in his travel journals, saying it was „a wonderful fortress upon a lake that receives its water from the Danube”.

Translation: Marija Stamenković