WE TAKE YOU TO THE MYSTICAL FORTRESS OF RAM, THE PRIDE OF ĐERDAP AND THE DUNAB
Legend has it that Remus, the younger twin brother of Romulus, after the mutual conflict between the two founders of the magnificent Rome, who were raised by a she-wolf, set off in search of the most romantic place in the world, where he will spend his life with his wife Leticia. After several days of wandering, they finally stopped on high rocks above a large but calm river, which was turning pink from the reflection. In the same place, many centuries later, Ottoman Sultan Bayazit II fell asleep on his ihram (carpet), after which he felt so rested and strong that he decided to build one of the largest border fortifications of the Ottoman Empire there
Regardless of whether its name comes from one of these two myths, or perhaps from the nearby Celtic temple with an altar, the Ram Fortress is still one of the pearls of this part of the Danube, which stands like a guardian at the entrance to the Djerdap gorge. In the first six months after the opening, for tourists of the completely restored complex in 2019, which was attended by representatives of the state leadership of the Republic of Serbia and the embassy of the Republic of Turkey, almost seven thousand curious people visited this magnificent medieval building.
The Danube beauty, as it is often called, is rectangular in shape, 34 meters long and 26 meters wide, with a total of five towers, the largest of which is the southwestern Donjon tower. The fact that it was surrounded by a dry moat speaks of the strength of the city’s military capabilities, as well as the fact that there are as many as 36 cannon holes on the fortification itself (for comparison, the Kalemegdan fortress has only 22). What gives the entire Ram fortress a touch of mysticism is certainly the central tomb from the ancient or Byzantine period, for which it has never been determined to whom it belonged.
The entire history of Ram is filled with similar interesting facts. The meeting of the Celtic leaders with the famous Greek conqueror Alexander the Great took place there. Trajan’s column in Rome describes the emperor’s campaign against the Dacians, which began precisely from Laderata, a military camp located on the site of today’s Ramos. In his time, the famous Hun leader Attila Beach of God also lived there. The construction of the fortress dates back to 1483 and Sultan Bayazit II, who himself stayed several times in Ram, where remains of Ottoman hammams remain today. The Austrian count Baron of Lopešti is remembered in history as the “hero of Ram” because he lost his life supposedly fighting alone against a thousand Turks!
Milenko Stojković’s Hajduk company was unique because it included a large number of girls freed from the harem far from the Ram fortress. The first Serbian deputation with Proto Matej Nenadović set out from here, and Karađorđe’s return from exile to Serbia is also connected to this region.
It is not easy to count the attractions that attract visitors to the place where the Balkans and Panogia meet. From the natural ones, such as the second largest width of the Danube, the stone cliff, Ada in the shape of a horseshoe or the mouth of the Nera river, to paragliding from Gorica, the Danube cycling route and challenging river expanses for the most skilled fishermen. The Ramska fortress is located not far from popular locations, namely the fortresses in Smederevo and Golupac, as well as Viminacium, Silver Lake and the Church of the Holy Archangels, which makes it an indispensable point for anyone who embarks on an unforgettable adventure of visiting this fairytale part of our Serbia.
Photo source: www.ramskatvrdjava.rs
