Fetislam, Novigrad, or the Kladovo town, is a fortress in Serbia, located on the banks of the Danube, a few kilometers upstream from modern Kladovo. A small town, it was built in 1524 as a starting point for the Ottoman conquest of the neighboring Hungarian towns of Severin and Transylvania and accordingly for the invasion of Transylvania.

Today's Kladovo was built on the site of a prehistoric settlement and later the ancient city of Zanes. On the site of ancient Zanes, a New Town was founded in the early Middle Ages, destroyed by the Hungarians in 1502. However, the new town was rebuilt again in 1524 after the destruction of Turn-Severin by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, when the commander of the Turkish army, Bali Bey, for the war with Hungary, erected a much stronger fortress and named it Fethi Islam (Fetislam), meaning stronghold, protection of Islam. It consists of two fortification parts from different eras: the Small Town and the Big Town.

During the Austro-Ottoman wars, between 1717 and 1737, Kladovo and other towns on the Danube and Sava regained importance, resulting in a large town with six bastions being built around the existing fortress. Around 1818, the ramparts of the big town were further strengthened, and the fortress remained in Ottoman hands until 1867, when it was handed over to Prince Mihailo (1839-1842, 1860-1868) along with six other towns. Although Fetislam was well fortified, it fell in 1591 under the onslaught of hajduks sent by the Duke of Wallachia, Mihailo. Since the town was destroyed and looted, the area was devastated because the Christians also retreated, fearing a Turkish invasion. Nevertheless, the Turks retained the fortress, and on the right side of the fortress, a new town rose. The new town is mentioned under its current name Kladovo during the Austro-Turkish war of 1688-1690. A new artillery bastion fortress was built in several stages, during the period from 1717 to 1739.

Until 1810, there were several unsuccessful attempts to capture Kladovo, and only at the end of 1810, a year after the fall of Negotin, did the Turks surrender Kladovo without a fight to the Serbian army. However, already in 1813, they recaptured it without a fight and began restoring the fortress. In the first half of the 19th century, the fortress became a stronghold for maintaining Turkish rule in Serbia. The struggle for the liberation of Kladovo, led by Prince Miloš after the stabilization of the situation in Serbia in 1824, lasted a whole decade, and in 1833 the liberation of Kladovo occurred. Although the town was liberated, Fetislam, which the Serbs then called Svetislav, was only freed in 1867, when all fortifications were handed over to Serbian administration.

According to the time it was built, the fortress has features of early artillery fortifications. The fortress is located on a hill on the bank of the Danube, has a rectangular shape, and consists of upper and riverside parts. At the corners are twelve four-story round towers with conical wooden roofs. The towers are connected by a rampart with a pedestrian path lined with battlements. The oldest description of the fortress dates back to 1666 and was written by the Turkish travel writer Evliya Çelebi. It has double walls, a moat, and one gate facing southeast. In the tower above the gate is the Suleiman Khan Mosque with a brick minaret. The fortress complemented the Ottoman fortified line on that part of the Danube bank, which consisted of the fortresses of Smederevo, Kulich, Rama, and Golubac.

The old small fortification during Austro-Hungarian rule was surrounded by a new system of ramparts, i.e., it was at the center of the new artillery fortress Fetislam. The large fortification, as it is usually called, has an irregular polygonal base with six bastions connected by curtains. The new fortifications were built from properly cut stone blocks at the bottom and semi-processed rubble in the upper zone. Their framework includes three gates, and in front of them was a moat filled with water. Between 1717 and 1739, bastions connected by ramparts and protected by palisades were erected.

The fortress was studied and extensive conservation work was carried out during the construction of the Djerdap II hydroelectric power plant, as the waters of this reservoir partially flood it. Conservation work on Fetislam was not completed in the 1980s, when the hydroelectric power plant financed protection by organizing an amphitheater for major cultural events. The fortress is under special threat from the Danube, as the cannon towers are exposed to changes in water levels. Fort Fetislam is located near the main road, with a special access road to the fortress, a few hundred meters from the center of Kladovo. Archaeological research of the complex and conservation work were carried out during the periods from 1973 to 1977 and between 1981 and 1984. After the construction of the Djerdap II hydroelectric power plant and the creation of the artificial lake, the riverside part of the fortress ended up underwater.

The fortress was completely rebuilt by April 2023. The entrance gates, summer stage, and ramparts were restored. A modern visitor center was also built, connecting the small and big towns, where valuable exhibits and exhibitions will be stored and available to visitors. The work lasted three years, and funding was provided by the European Union and the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

Sources:

https://resolbi.ru/krepost-v-kladovo-ili-fetislam-serbiya/

https://vdahnoveniedunav.com/?p=74

https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фетислам