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The Old Town of Srebrenik: Home of Bosnian Bans and Kings

The Old Town of Srebrenik is a fortress located above the city of the same name, north of Tuzla, in the area of ​​the former parish of Usora, which during the Middle Ages was the site of constant conflicts between Bosnia and Hungary, and since the 15th century the Ottoman Empire as well. It is located on a lonely rock and the only way to enter it is the wooden bridge above the abyss that connects the rock itself with the rest of the area-, which makes it unconquerable to assaults.

The fort is composed of three connected parts with four towers and a smaller castle. The thickness of the walls of the ramparts, which are the main defensive cover of the city and the outer parts of the tower, is one and a half meters, and the main, or the strongest tower in the fortress is on the top.

Different records

From here, on February 15, 1333, ban

‘s uncle, the first king of medieval Bosnia, wrote a charter in Bosnian Cyrillic to the people of Dubrovnik; with this document he gave up Ston and Pelješac for some benefits, as part of the compromise. Although the first written documents about the ancient Srebrenik dates back to 683, the city was built before that, but a reliable construction date is not known.

This was an interesting place for everyone, and many tried to win it. In 1464 Hungarians penetrated the north-eastern Bosnia and formed the Banovina of Srebrenik (region of Srebrenik). Regarding the takeover of Srebrenik by the Ottomans, two versions are mentioned, and according to one, Srebrenik was conquered along with Teočak in 1512, while according to another, it happened nine years later.

Numerous historical and folk tales are connected to this fortress, thus the interesting story of the Ottoman takeover of Srebrenik. There are also various records and stories about this, and one version says that along the outer walls the Ottoman soldiers climbed to the towers using ladder, and in other that the Ottoman army was more numerous and superior, but defenders of Srebrenik were wiser.

They shoed horses upside down and quietly left the city during the night, so the traces of movement indicated arrival, so the opponents thought their reinforcement had arrived and they did not dare to attack for a long time.

National Seal

When the Ottomans occupied the Old Town, they held a smaller crew of some 50 soldiers, because the city lost its strategic importance due to the war and the shifted border. During the 18th century the city of Srebrenik again became strategically important, when it was rebuilt on two occasions. It was finally abandoned after 1835.

The Old Town is erected on a rock that rises above the surrounding settlements in the height of about 50 to 70 meters. The height difference between the lowest and the highest point on which the tower is located is about 13 meters. An important historical event is connected to the fortress in Srebrenik, when the Hungarian King Louis began conquering the medieval Bosnia.

He suffered a serious defeat here and what is very specific is that on that occasion, it is not known whether it was during a retreat or other circumstances, the Hungarian state seal was lost.

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