Serbia
Golubac
Golubac: A Medieval Fortress at the Entrance to the Iron Gates
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Where Ships Tie Up
River ships tie up at piers below Golubac Fortress, about 4 km downstream from the village of Golubac. The fortress grounds were declared a port area in 2018, and cruise ships have docked there since.
- There are two piers in the river, one larger and one smaller.
- Visitors must carry their passport at all times for identification.
- The currency is the Serbian dinar.
Golubac on Your Own
Golubac Fortress is right beside the piers, so a visit on your own is simple. Every visitor to the fortress area needs a ticket, and the ticket you buy decides how far up the towers you can go.
- Green zone: Open to all visitors, it covers the palace and towers 9, 8 and 5, which hold exhibitions.
- Adult zones: The blue zone adds Tower 4 and is for adults only. The red zone adds Tower 7, and the black zone adds Tower 3 and Tower 1, the Hat Tower; both are for adults with a guide.
- Tickets and hours: Prices differ by zone, opening hours vary through the year, and some zones open only on certain days, so check before you go.
- The visitor center: Its permanent exhibition covers the archaeology of the fortress's outer ward.
- Walking trails: Trails of 1.2 km and longer begin at or near the fortress, and some run partly inside Đerdap National Park.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
- Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match the local clocks or your phone. Romania, on the far bank, is one hour ahead of Serbia.
Tipping in Serbia
A service charge is already included in Serbian bills, so a tip is never an obligation. Even so, rounding up or leaving 10 to 15 percent in a sit-down restaurant is common.
- Bars and taxis: Tips are also accepted, usually by rounding up.
- Currency: Prices are in Serbian dinars. Euros are sometimes accepted, but prices are often higher.
Culture and Landscape
Golubac stands at the upstream entrance to the Iron Gates, the long gorge where the Danube cuts through the Carpathian mountains between Serbia and Romania. The land along the Serbian bank is protected as Đerdap National Park.
- The river: At the fortress the Danube is about 6.5 km wide. Downstream it narrows through four gorges, and in the Kazan gorge the riverbed is only about 150 m across between cliffs some 300 m high.
- Đerdap National Park: Established in 1974, it runs along the right bank from Golubac Fortress to the dam near Novi Sip. In 2020 the wider area became Serbia's first UNESCO Global Geopark.
- Lepenski Vir: Inside the park downstream, this archaeological site preserves traces of Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements about 11,500 years old.
- The name: Golubac comes from golub, meaning pigeon or dove. A later legend tells of a girl named Golubana who refused a pasha and was left to die, in some tellings tied to a rock above the river.
- Sailing: Golubac is a center for sailing, with the national sailing association's training base and a regatta each August.
A Brief History
Golubac Fortress guarded a narrow point of the Danube where traffic could be watched and taxed. For centuries it passed between Hungary, Serbia and the Ottoman Empire.
- Roman times: A Roman and Byzantine settlement stood on the site long before the fortress.
- 14th century: Most of the fortress was built early in the century. Who built it is not certain, but an Orthodox chapel inside may point to a Serbian origin.
- 1335: Golubac first appears in records, held by the Hungarian army.
- 1389: After the Battle of Kosovo the Ottomans took the fortress for the first time, and in 1391 it changed hands twice.
- 1403: King Sigismund of Hungary gave Golubac to the Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević.
- 1427: After Stefan's death, its commander demanded 12,000 ducats to hand it back to Hungary and, when refused, gave it to the Ottomans.
- 1428: Sigismund besieged the fortress and was nearly captured as he withdrew. Cecília Rozgonyi, who commanded one of his river ships, is credited with his rescue.
- 1444: The Peace of Szeged returned Golubac to the Serbian despotate, but the Ottomans retook it in the 1450s.
- Late 1860s: The Ottomans handed the fortress to the Principality of Serbia.
- 2017 to 2019: A road tunnel took traffic out of the fortress in 2017, and the fully restored fortress opened in April 2019.
- To learn more ashore: The visitor center at Golubac Fortress has a permanent exhibition on its archaeology, and towers 5, 8 and 9 hold exhibitions on its history.
Golubac with Children
Golubac Fortress is a medieval castle on the river with towers to explore. Only the green zone is open to children, so plan the visit around what younger family members can enter.
- Younger children: Stay in the green zone and explore the palace and towers 5, 8 and 9.
- School age: Find the cannon tower, which defended the harbor and the waterway, and the exhibition on the knights of Golubac.
- Teenagers: The blue, red and black zones are for adults only, so active teenagers can walk the 1.2 km trail that starts above the fortress instead.
- On weekends: Themed events about life in the Middle Ages are sometimes staged in the fortress square at weekends, so check before you go.
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