4QVG+H3 Rakovac, Serbia
Due to the small number of surviving sources, there is not much information about the history of this fortification. It was most likely built in the 13th century on the foundation of a former Roman fortification. The fort consisted of an elongated semicircular base with entrance gates on the eastern rampart. Its purpose was to protect the road that passed through Fruška Gora and led to the Danube. At the foot of the fortress, a medieval town developed, first mentioned in the Charter of Archbishop Demetrius of Kalocsa from 1315 under the name Rednuk. This document states that both the town and the fortress belonged to the Archbishop of Kalocsa.
In the village, a fair was held on Sundays. There was also a Franciscan monastery in Vrdnik, the first mention of which dates back to 1380. The Kingdom of Hungary, to which Vrdnik belonged, was territorially organized in the Middle Ages through counties that had their own centers and held county assemblies. These assemblies were mainly held in the county center. In Vrdnik, in 1497, the assembly of the Srem County took place. Due to the lack of historical sources, it is impossible to determine whether this town was the residence of the Srem county, and if so, whether it was the permanent or temporary capital of the county.
It should be noted that at the aforementioned assembly, a document of the county authorities was adopted regarding the lawsuit of Peter Gereb from Vingárt, a judge of the Hungarian royal court, against the Serbian despots George and Jovan Branković and their retinue. This act confirmed that the retinue of the Serbian despots Dimitrije Pozop, superintendent of the court of the Serbian despots in Kupinik, and castellan Jarka Damjan Belmužević, along with other retinue members of the despots and fortress inhabitants in Silbaš (modern-day Sibac in the Pećinci municipality), the property of Gereb, killed the son of Duke Elez (Marko Eleza), and the castellan of Irig, Vuk Kolaković, on the orders of the despots and with their men, devastated his estates. Unfortunately, historical sources do not reveal how this dispute between Peter Gereb and the Serbian despots was ultimately resolved. The town and fortress of Vrdnik were possessions of the bishops of Kalocsa until 1521, when it was conquered by the Ottomans.
From the former fortress of Vrdnik today, parts of the walls and the entrance tower can be seen, as well as a well-preserved donjon tower with a semicircular base, after which the entire area is named the Vrdnik Tower. Only remnants of it remain today. It is located at an altitude of 400 meters above sea level, on the southern slopes of Fruška Gora. The town had an elongated semicircular base with entrance gates in the eastern part of the fortress ramparts. Next to the gate was the entrance tower, whose plan was rectangular inside and rounded outside. Part of the southern wall fabric has been preserved. The buttress reinforcements are still visible on it. In the rest of the fort, a powerful donjon tower dominates, which also has an elongated semicircular layout. Before World War II, excavations were conducted, and walls surrounding the area were discovered at that time. Of the entire town, only the donjon with a small rampart and the ruins of another tower have survived today. When this site was explored, items from the time of the Roman Tetrarchy and Emperor Probus (276 AD), who ruled part of the Roman Empire from Sirmium, were found. This indicates that the fort was originally built on this site in his days as a lookout or outpost of Sirmium itself. To date, no research (archaeological, architectural, or historical) has been conducted, so there is no detailed information about the appearance or past of Vrdnik.
Sources:
https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tvrđava_Vrdnik
https://srpskasrednjovekovnaistorija.com/vrdnicka-tvrdjava-cuvar-fruske-gore/
