Fortification Complex of Banja Luka in 16th Century

Abstract

Banja Luka city is placed in south and narrow part of the Vrbas river valley, opened toward Posavina and Central Bosnia. In the literature one can find many different opinions about location of fortress of Banja Luka and about Vrbaski, which has been a central part of medieval Vrbaska district for some time. Some thinks that there were two different cities, Banja Luka and Vrbaski, existing in the same period. Other opinion is that there were just one city and that Banja Luka has developed from the Vrbaski, on the same location. Concerning the fact that fortress in Banja Luka in the Ottoman period was in fact continuation of the medieval fortifications, a few short observations about that are made in this work.

There was always a fortress in the area of present city of Banja Luka, in the Roman age as well as in the medieval period. That is the evidence that the city of Banja Luka has always been located on important strategic place.

During the Ottoman period, the strategic importance of the city has become even bigger. One of the most important figures in XVI century Ottoman Bosnia, Sokollu Ferhad Pasha, who made a huge contribution in development of Banja Luka, has also built a new fortress (kal'a-i cedîd), latter known as Kastel.

Some new information presented in this work are about origins and structure of the garrison of Banja Luka fortress, later both of the fortresses, about changing the way of financing them as well as amounts of their incomes. All of these new facts are based on the official Ottoman registers, primary historical sources from that period.