The Vršac Fortress in Serbia from the 15th century, the remains of which rise at an altitude of 399 meters above sea level, on the Vršac bank above the city.

It is believed that the complex was built by order of Đurađ Branković after the fall of Smederevo. The best-preserved part of the fortress is the donjon tower, but remains of fortress ramparts, a palace, and a semicircular tower were found and later restored. During archaeological excavations at the end of the 20th century, a large number of finds were discovered.

The tower often became the object of conquests and destruction, especially in the 16th and 18th centuries, so extensive restoration and reconstruction works were carried out at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. The donjon, parts of the fortress ramparts, and towers were rebuilt and restored.

The fortification has an elongated shape, following the shape of the plateau at the top of the hill, 18 meters wide and 46 meters long. The donjon has a rectangular base with an entrance at the top, accessible by a ladder that could easily be hidden or burned in case of danger. Its height is about 20 meters, with four floors, the last of which, judging by the remains of fireplaces and hearths, was used for living quarters. It is assumed that the entire fort was built after the fall of Smederevo in 1439 to protect its possessions in the territory of present-day Vojvodina. This is confirmed by architectural similarities between Vršac and the city of Smederevo, i.e., the fortification of the Manasija Monastery. According to some other sources, before this time there was a fortification in this area mentioned in sources from the first half of the 13th century under the name Erd Šomlo or simply Šomlo, but its exact location has not yet been confirmed with certainty, as in addition to today's Vršac, the Banat region, now in Romania, is also mentioned as a possible location.

Vršac is first mentioned in sources in 1427 in a letter from King Sigismund (1387–1439) under the name Podvršač, indicating that the settlement was located under the peak, where the fort possibly also stood. However, it is most credible that the fort, the remains of which are today on the top of the Vršac hill, was most likely built after the fall of Smederevo in 1439. By 1456, it was captured by the Ottomans during their attack on Smederevo and Belgrade but was not held for long.

The Ottomans captured the fort and its surroundings in 1552 and held it until 1716, when it became part of the Austrian Empire. During Ottoman rule, the Great Banat Uprising occurred in 1594, led by local Serbs and Romanians, during which, among other things, Vršac was liberated.

The uprising itself was brutally suppressed, but a legendary event during the Ottoman siege of the city was recorded, when the Ottoman agha challenged the Serbian duke Janko Lugosani, nicknamed Halabura, who defended the fort, to a duel. He came out to meet him on the battlefield and defeated him, and this event also became part of the coat of arms of the city of Vršac, where above the tower a hand with a sword and the severed head of a Turk is visible.

The Austrians took control of the city in 1716, and in the same year, it became part of the Tamiš Banat, based in Timișoara, and by 1718 it became the center of the Vršac district. It is likely that at this time the fort lost its strategic value and was abandoned, as there are no signs of its transformation into an artillery fortress, as happened with the Belgrade or Petrovaradin fortresses.

Restoration and reconstruction works on the tower were carried out in 1984, and from 1993 to 1997 systematic archaeological excavations of the entire site began, during which remains of a strong round tower opposite the one preserved today were discovered. The tower itself and the remains of the fort were damaged during NATO aggression against the FRY as a result of missile strikes on a telecommunications transmitter located nearby, carried out on April 30 and May 12, 1999.

During intensive archaeological research, many parts of the castle were discovered, including ramparts, the most impressive of which are the South and North ramparts. The South rampart stretches along the edge of the plateau from the donjon to the semicircular tower. It consists of four segments, which were probably built separately, as evidenced by their unequal length. It is built of split and rubble stone, gneiss, irregularly shaped, in lime mortar, preserved at a height of 1 to 1.60 meters. It is mostly polygonal in shape. The central part of the rampart contains a hexagonal opening that passes through the entire width of the wall. The opening was probably used to drain atmospheric water from the Western courtyard of the castle. In the western part of the castle, there is a rectangular niche formed by four stone slabs, which probably had multipurpose use.

The original height of this rampart can only be determined in its eastern part, while due to preservation, this is impossible for the western part. The preserved trace of the fortress ramparts on the outside of the donjon tower is 1.90 meters wide, indicating that the height of the fortress ramparts in the eastern part was about 11 meters. The western part of the fortress ramparts is somewhat narrower, so it is believed to have been about 8 meters. The height and strength of the Eastern rampart are attributed to the proximity of the donjon tower, at the base of which were the palaces of the nobles and large cisterns.

Due to the connection between the narrower and wider ramparts, it is assumed that the rampart was built in two stages. The width of the pedestrian path on the rampart was reduced by 0.80 meters due to the slope, which was insufficient for the safe and, above all, rapid movement of defenders. The pedestrian path was probably covered by a pitched wall.

The southwest corner of the castle is mostly a regular quadrilateral shape with a preserved height of 2.60 meters. It is built of irregular rubble stone in lime mortar. Based on its position, it is believed that this part of the castle served as a pedestal for wooden steps leading to the pedestrian path.

The northern rampart stretches in a straight line from the donjon to the semicircular tower; its eastern part is completely destroyed. The rampart is built of broken and split irregularly shaped stone in lime mortar, with an average height of 1.60 meters. The length of the northern rampart is equal to that of the southern one. Poorly preserved traces indicate that the rampart was about 8 meters high along its entire length, with a pedestrian path along it, expanded by a wooden cantilever extension. Based on the location of structures inside the rampart and possible approaches to the site, it was concluded that the main entrance was in this part of the rampart, which was destroyed to the foundation. The remains preserved on the rock indicate that the entrance was about 3 meters wide, arched, with a massive double wooden door.

The destruction of the northern rampart in its eastern part is most likely connected with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, when the Habsburg monarchy received all of Hungary except Banat. One of the points of the agreement was the requirement to destroy all forts except Timișoara and Arad. The destruction was probably carried out in the summer of 1701 under the leadership of Count Wolfgang von Quelling.

The eastern rampart consists of two parts, about 1.90 meters wide. Both parts are connected by the southern and northern walls of the donjon tower. The ramparts were built simultaneously, as evidenced by their connection with the tower walls.

The inner rampart is divided by a wall 18.20 meters long into Eastern and Western courtyards. In the central part, a wall about 2 meters high is preserved, and in the southern and northern parts, remains of walls about 0.70 meters high are preserved. The partition, besides dividing, also played a role in protecting the donjon tower. In the southern part of this partition, a walled passage was discovered connecting the Eastern and Western courtyards. The passage was arched, made of massive and properly hewn sandstone blocks. Most likely, the passage was walled up after 1552, when the castle came under Turkish rule. The Turks used only the donjon and the Eastern courtyard, while the western part was ruins unsuitable for use.

The ends of the western partition are connected with parts of the Southern and Northern ramparts, indicating their simultaneous construction. Thus, it is assumed that the donjon tower with the palace and cistern and the eastern part of the castle were built in one phase, and then the western part of the castle with the semicircular tower was erected, giving the castle its certain appearance.

The donjon tower is built into the central part of the Eastern rampart. It is visible from all sides, indicating the importance of good overview and control of the surroundings, which the owners of the Vršac castle had. It has a rectangular shape with a height of 19.85 meters. It is built of massive boulders skillfully integrated into the western wall of the tower. The base of the tower was additionally reinforced with slopes located on three sides. The slope is absent only on the western side.

The walls, which have an average thickness of 2.50 meters, are built of pressed or split gneiss, a local stone, in lime mortar. Only blocks of higher-quality stone were processed, with shaped edges. The wall surfaces were polished and completely covered with coarse-grained lime plaster. Thus, the lower-quality stone is protected from weather conditions and, consequently, from damage.

Unevenly placed openings can be noticed in the walls of the tower, made for defensive reasons. The eastern wall has neither openings nor loopholes. The greatest number of openings is in the western wall of the tower. The northern wall features two loopholes, while the southern wall has only a machicolation.

The interior space is divided into three floors, between which are inter-floor wooden structures. Communication between floors was possible via wooden stairs passing through openings in the floors.

Sources:

https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Вршачка_кула#

https://srpskasrednjovekovnaistorija.com/vrsacka-kula-tvrdjava-despota-stefana-lazarevica-i-despota-djuradja-brankovica/