Works on the reconstruction of another tower on the Fortress “Kastel” in Banja Luka, with the value of about 100,000 BAM, should start this spring.
“We allocated funds for this project from the budget for this year and we are hoping that works will have the quality and that they will be completed 90 days after the introduction of the contractor to the job,” said Head of Department, Petar Bilcar.
Last year, they completed works on the reconstruction of the part of Kastel, and their value amounted to 9,1 million BAM, which were invested by funds from the EU and the City of Banja Luka.
Fortress Kastel is the oldest monument in the center of Banja Luka. In historical documents was recorded that the oldest traces of settlements in the city were remains of a Neolithic settlement, which were found in the area of this fortress. There is no reliable data on the exact date when this object was built. However, many findings show that the Roman settlement of Castra was located there.
Moreover, remains of a Slavic settlement from the early Middle Ages (from VIII to XII century) were found in the area of the fortress.
There was Vrbaski town in the Bosnian medieval state, and according to one of the assumptions, it was located on the locality of today’s Kastel. However, according to another assumption, Vrbaski town is identified with Podgradci in Potkozarje.
The intensive construction of Kastel started in the last decade of the XV century, during the Ottoman occupation and rule of Ferhad-pasha Sokolovic (1574-1588), who also built a number of other oriental structures besides this fortress.
(Source: klix.ba)
