• Updated: 26/05/2021 - 15:43
Anyone craving adventures that take them truly off the beaten track will undoubtedly find what they’re looking for in Serbia. Travelling in the vast rural areas of this country can mean anything from scrambling up pretty mountain paths to admiring medieval art in secluded monasteries, tucking into huge plates of smoky grilled sausages or bedding down in a remote fairytale village.
The rivers, lakes and national parks are ideal places for adventure sports and wildlife spotting, and no matter which region you choose to explore, the landscape’s wild beauty is bound to give you goosebumps.
Medieval Fortifications in the Balkans
By Alice Isabella Sullivan
Fortified locals are prominent features of the Eastern European landscape. Throughout the Middle Ages, the regions of the Balkan Peninsula were caught at the crossroads of competing worldviews and defensive architecture became an important mechanism through which to ensure the protection of secular and religious sites.
Medieval cities regularly received surrounding enclosures. Constantinople is a prime example. Its massive fortifications resisted besiegers for more than a thousand years. Thessaloniki – a prominent city in the Balkans, established by King Cassander of Macedon (r. 305-297 B.C.) – featured imposing fortifications like those of the Byzantine capital. Although the architectural record of Thessaloniki from this period is difficult to establish, the walls of the city were impressive. They extended for about 8 kilometres, and were reconstructed between 380s and mid-400s. This project corresponds roughly