RUMELI HISARI

Description

Essentials about Rumeli Hisari in brief

The Rumeli Hisari (Rumelian Fortress) is an Ottoman fortress complex on the European side of the Bosphorus, just a short distance south of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. The fortress played an essential role in the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The fortress now houses a museum and is also used as a venue for concerts in the summer.

The history of Rumeli Hisari

Sultan Mehmed II had the complex built in 1452 as part of the preparations for the siege of Constantinople at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus. The strait is only 700 meters wide here. In the almost unbelievable record construction time of only four months, 3,000 Ottomans built the Rumeli Hisari. In conjunction with the Anadolu Hisari fortress opposite, this prevented support coming via the Danube and the Black Sea from reaching Constantinople.

The Rumeli Hisari complex

The fortress complex has a length of 250 meters and is 125 meters wide. The outer fortress extends to the Bosphorus on the eastern side, while the inner fortress lies on the slope behind it. The walls were built of stones from surrounding ruins and are up to seven meters thick.

After the storming of Constantinople, the fortress served as a prison. Until 1830, the three large towers, which bear the names of three viziers (Saruca Pasha, Halil Pasha and Zaganos Pasha), still had leaden pointed roofs. Two round towers stand on the crest of the hill, and a corner tower stands at the strait. There is still an artillery foreland at the eastern sea gate.

In 1953, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the capture of Constantinople, the Rumelian Fortress was restored and opened to visitors. Since then, it has housed a cannon museum and is a venue for open-air concerts in the summer months.