Description of the attraction
Ten kilometers from the town of Kardzhali, near the village of Shiroko-Pole, there are the ruins of the Monyak fortress. The defensive structure was built in the 12-13th centuries in the Rhodope Mountains at an altitude of about 600 meters above sea level. The Monyak Fortress is considered one of the largest medieval Bulgarian fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains and the highest one. It occupies an area of about 5 hectares, access here is very difficult, as it is complicated by a very steep, in some places almost vertical, ascent.
The Moniak fortress performed the most important strategic function, it stood on the way to the Iron Gate (Zhelezny Vrata) pass, and also guarded the access routes to the medieval city located near the monastery of St. Historical chronicles contain information about the siege of the fortress by the Latins in 1206 (the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders). It was in the Monjak fortress that the emperor of the Latin Empire, Henry I of Flanders, was crowned.
During archaeological excavations, the ruins of the city wall were discovered, the remaining part of which is about 270 meters long, up to 7-8 meters high, eight defensive towers 3-4 meters high, as well as water storage tanks. The structure was built of stone blocks cemented with a lime-sand mixture.
From the site, where the ruins of the ancient fortress Monyak are located, a panoramic view of the city of Kardzhali and the Studen kladenets reservoir opens.
