The most irregular pentagon of Serbia with the most beautiful view of the Danube, which, although it has stood here for centuries, looks brand new…
Last year, when I visited Golubac, which I wrote about here, from the scaffolding, I glanced at the fortress and I was sorry that the timetable did not allow me to climb and see it…
Namely, I had to choose between the benefits of fish soup and history… The first one won out. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful then as it is today and that’s why I’m glad I was patient and left Ram for later. That later has arrived, and so, here is how I experienced the fortress…
How to get to the fortress
Ram Fortress is 110 km away from Belgrade and only 25 km from Pozarevac. It is located on a hill above the Danube.
You can reach it by ferry from the direction of Palanka, but also from the direction of Kovin. How much time you need for both routs you can find here. I highly recommend the first one, because it is an unforgettable experience that I wrote about here.
How did Ram get its name?
Legend has it that Remus, the younger brother of the famous Romulus, quarreled with his brother and decided to go to the banks of the Danube with his wife Leticia and build a home there. He supposedly liked it here.
It is not known how Ram got its name but in various Austrian, Hungarian and Turkish maps of the time it should be noted that everyone called this place hram and hram is supposedly an old Celtic word and, according to a conspiracy theory, it is believed that the letter h was later “lost in the translation”.
However, what is known for sure is that the fortress of Ram was first mentioned in 1128. because the Byzantines and Hungarians were fighting in the immediate vicinity.
But all that would not have been important if Bayazit had not fallen asleep in this place a few centuries later and decided to build a fortress here.
Since the carpet on which he slept sweetly is called ihram, hence the name of the city. Of course, the real truth is that the fortress was supposed to defend the Turkish forces from the invasion from Hungary. But it is better when there are legends.
Then came the Austrians and then the others. Of course, Google knows more about this than I do.
What is important is that the fortress stood destroyed and buried for a long time.
Repaired and cleaned, it is a great occasion to come to sleepy Ram. A one day trip that you will make here will reveal the secrets of the fortress.
3 secrets about Ram fortress
1.The best view
Here, the Danube is about 5 km wide and you can see it until your eyes fall out, all for only 300 dinars. They say that here the Danube is the widest in Serbia. It is wider near Golubac, but there we share it with Romania. Near Ram, when you take a look, everything is on the Serbian side.
2. Partially accessible
Murphy’s Law says that wheelers have no place in fortresses, especially those from the 12th century. You can enter the fortress but there is one threshold inside that I think electric wheelchair users will not be able to overcome.
As far as wheelchairs are concerned, mine are from the Middle Ages, so I was able to enter.
This is where my ’12th century’ wheelchair passes without any problems.
Inside, there are many galleries with a spectacular view that is not available to me, but from the access terrace I could also see the same as the others who were suffocating on the beautifully shaped walls.
3. If you come on a weekday you will have a fortress almost all to yourself.
It is free for people with disabilities.
For all walking:
The ticket price for individual visits is 300 dinars, while for group visits it is 200 dinars per person.
The working hours of the Ram Fortress are from 11 am to 5 pm, every day except Tuesdays.
What do you need to know about the fortress as a real tourist?
The fortress was built without cement and iron. Each stone is carefully cleaned and fastened with 600-year-old mortar.
The mortar becomes firmer over time and the recipe was brought from Turkey, the guide will tell you.
Since the Ram fortress is one of the first artillery fortresses in this area, a 3.5 m “surplus” had to be excavated in order to reach the walls.
The fortification has foundations in the shape of an irregular pentagon, and five towers have been erected at its corners.
The fortress was built to use firearms. It had 36 cannon positions, while its much larger colleague, the Belgrade Fortress, had only 22.
Next to the fortress, there was a caravanserai where tired traders and passers-by could spend the night in safety. Only the walls have been preserved, but who knows how many stories they can tell you when the walls could speak.
What happened next?
After the Battle of Mohács, the border moved constantly so that the fortress lost its significance, the fortress went from hand to hand. Of course, no one restored it, everyone just used it for their own needs. Every tenant damaged something, and so the fortress fell into oblivion.
Until today, when it is absolutely worth visiting. You can end your visit in one of the cafes while ordering a Danube cauldron, drunk carp or grilled sturgeon.
Conclusion
Sleeping Ram is not yet used to being a tourist star and what happened to him. Except for the fortress, everything else is the same. Thanks to poorly designed signs, you can easily get lost. But be persistent because it is worth it.
Have you visited Ram fortress?
Did I miss anything?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Veličković
