Judgement Tower, Maribor, Slovenia

The Judgement Tower is a fortified medieval tower in Maribor. An original tower built on the site in the early 14th century secured the southwestern corner of the city walls. It was completely rebuilt in 1540, with the addition of a conical roof which burned down in the 17th century.

The tower has seen several additions; the renaissance structure extends to the tops of the second-floor windows, and is followed an early 17th century extension. Four more floors were added in the 19th century.

The tower partially burned down again in 1937 and was restored in the 1950s. It is one of several surviving elements of the former city walls; others include the Water Tower and the Jewish Tower, while the Benetke Tower was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for a hydroelectric reservoir.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Slovenia

User Reviews

Jan Oxi (20 months ago)
Good

Amartya Ghosh (21 months ago)
Maribor in Slovenia isn't that popular place yet this one's a quiant and quiet place. Nice to stroll around. Good for a day trip out from the city hustle.

Kinga Maroszek (2 years ago)
One of many monuments in the historical part of Maribor

Gregor Jaklinov (2 years ago)
It's always closed, would be great for events, but unfortunately!

Otto Khera (3 years ago)
This historical building in Maribor was once much bigger, and served as a river portage and storage house. Much of it was torn down in the 20th Century. Now the daily market happens right above it, and efforts are underway to restore it even more (it has been largely restored in terms of the remaining structure).

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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