Fortress Kastel

Kastel Fortress is the oldest historical monument in the city of Banja Luka. The oldest traces of settlements in the area of ​​Luka are the remains of a Neolithic Building settlement that was just found in the city of Kastel City Fortress. It is located in the central part of the city, which dominates the left bank of Vrbas.
There are no reliable data on the time of this facility. However, many circumstances point to the conclusion that the Roman settlement of Castra was right there. The Romans were exposed to frequent attendees of the barbaries, and they had certainly strong reasons to defend the road passing through the Vrbasa Bell. In support of such allegations, archaeological findings found in the area of ​​today's castle, and relate to Roman ceramics, money and construction. A particularly important finding is an ancient altar dedicated to God Jupiter found in 1885 during the construction of the bridge through church. Also, the remains of the Slavic settlement from the period of the early Middle Ages were found in the area of ​​the fortress (from VIII to the 12th century). In the Bosnian medieval state, there was a Vrbaška city, which was located in the place of today's castle. However, according to the second assumption, the Vrbaška city is identified with the undercuts in the Potkozar.
The intensive construction of the castle begins in the penultimate decade of the 15th century, during the Turkish occupation and the rule of Ferhad Pasha Sokolović (1574-1588) which in addition to this fort are building and a number of other oriental type facilities. Ferhad-Pasha at the place of today's castle is building his fortified Heat (Arsenal), in order, for ten years later, Heat-exceeded the real fortified town with towers and tabes, who continuously upgraded. Since he lies at the mouth of the church in Vrbas, two bridges were filed from the fortress. One went through Vrbas, near the present city bridge, and the other through the church. The bridge over the Vrbas was consulted only in one old engraving. Vrbas and church connected a large municipal municipality, so that the fortress was actually, once, an island was established that surrounded the water of the two rivers. On the walls of the fortress, he was also a large wooden konak, which he looked at Vrbas, as well as a series of masonry facilities from the period while the fortroug's army was in the fortrouds. The fortress, but also the city of Banja Luka specifically gain importance during the Austro-Hungarian-Turkish wars as an important geostrategic center.
In plans for rehabilitation, restoration and revitalization of the castle, it is envisaged that one part of these facilities is renewed, so that the fortress received the look as close as possible. In the area of ​​the fortress itself, a lot of archaeological traces of ancient times were found, through the already mentioned Slavic dwellings, to newer cultures. In the castle there is a Roman sarcophagus found in Shargovac, Roman Miljocaz from the former road salon - Servitium. Today is the Kastel Fortress Monument and the category. In the past, Kastel was a very military fortification and protected the Vrbas Kotlin from enemy fights. The fortress is surrounded by thick stone walls on all sides, and in its interior, in addition to the summer stage, the playground for children and the national restaurant is a stone house in the function of the gallery.