Description of the attraction
The ruins of the Ustra fortress are located near the village of Ustra in southern Bulgaria in the eastern part of the Rhodope. The Ustra fortress was one of the most inaccessible citadels of the Rhodope Mountains, it is located on a mountain peak, at an altitude of more than a thousand meters above sea level. The citadel was very difficult to reach for the invaders, since from the north and north-west it was protected by sheer cliffs, and the defenders of the fortress from above had an ideal view.
From 1971 to 1973, archaeological excavations were carried out here, as a result of which scientists established that the Ustra fortress was erected in the 10th century. For a long time it was a Byzantine property, the main function of the fortress was to protect a very important trade route. Later it was captured by the army of Simeon the Great, to whom Bulgaria owed its Golden Age, however, after the death of the king, these lands were returned to the Byzantine Empire as a tribute for the recognition of the imperial titles of the Bulgarian rulers. In the period of 12-14 centuries, the fortress passed from the Byzantines to the Bulgarians and vice versa, but the overwhelming amount of time was in the possession of Byzantium.
The ruins of the Ustra fortress occupy an area of about 1300 square meters, it stretches for 113 meters. For the construction of the fortress walls, rubble stone was used, in some places the height of the wall reaches eight to ten meters. Visitors can see the remains of ancient buildings, ruins of walls. You can see three fortress towers that have survived to this day - two rectangular and one semicircular. Each of the towers was three-story, and inside there are some stairs. In the southeastern and southern parts of the fortress, there were several three-storey buildings. The entrance to the fortress was in the eastern wall.
The ruins of the fortress are an architectural monument of the Middle Ages. Visiting the Ustra fortress is free.
