The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

July 2021.

It was just an 18-minute drive from the town of Veliko Gradište to the village of Golubac. A pretty straightforward trip, we figured, with a local bus. But then our host Bojan at the Boatel offered to give us a complimentary lift. Delighted, we wholeheartedly accepted his offer.

In two shakes of a puppy’s tale we were there and enjoying coffee at Cafe The Life, one of many food and drink establishments that line the stretch of the Danube which passes through the village. Not a bad way to kill an hour while waiting for our early afternoon check-in.

Our Golubac base was a cosy Airbnb apartment called Marija’s Place in a residential block right on the village main street. It was situated above a bistro called Kafana Brsanović, though today there is absolutely no online reference to the cafe, so not sure if it’s still there.

In any case we were more than happy with our digs. Recently refurbished, the apartment was modern and cosy, while Marija had thoughtfully left us a bottle of red on the kitchen table. Lovely.

The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

Dropping off our bags and freshening up, we soon headed back out into the village to grab brunch. Home to just 1600 people, Golubac is a tiny and often unassuming place. Still, much like Veliko Gradište it has a pretty park that runs alongside The Danube. And that’s precisely where we headed to fill our stomachs at a popular eatery, Nana Restoran.

Inside a sleepy vibe prevailed, despite the fact that this was supposedly the height of the summer season. Keen to try some traditional Serbian fare, I plumped for a plate of Uštipci, savoury fried dough balls served with prosciutto, clotted cream and chocolate spread. Not a scrap survived.

Beyond the park and its divine dough balls, there is very little of interest within the village itself. However, just two and a half kilometres downstream lies an absolutely spectacular historic fortress. I’m talking one of the most stunning and beautifully located fortresses in Europe.

Built in the early 1300s (possibly by the Serbs, possibly by the Hungarians, historians aren’t sure), the fortress sits on an embankment on the south side of The Danube. Here the river meets the Iron Gates Gorge where it flows into a wider pass of the Carpathian Mountains.

The Jewel of the Danube.

Moreover, the fortress is located right on the edge of Đerdap National Park. So close in fact that one can set off on a number of trails that start right from the visitor centre.

Spontaneously, we decided to tackle one of the trails before going inside the fortress. Soak up a bit of the atmosphere if you will and grab some elevated views of the structure that many Serbians call “The jewel of The Danube”.

It was damn hot that afternoon, thus we thought it wise to tackle the most straightforward route on offer. It’s called the Smoketree and Lilac Trail, a 1.2 kilometre hike that winds up to the so-called Dragon’s Garden Viewpoint.

The info board marks the trail as easy, but boy was it hard work in the stifling summer heat. Nevertheless, we loved every second of the climb, drinking in the lush greenery and the quiet of what was virtually our own private forest.

As the trail name suggests, the route offers up a bounty of smoketrees, smoke bushes and lilac. What’s more, there is an abundance of cornelian cherry, silver thistle, marsh mallow and ramsons.

The Smoketree & Lilac Trail.

We also enjoyed the rows of daisies, especially when we came across a butterfly resting within one clump. The poor thing was probably also struggling with the heat.

Eventually our efforts paid off as we arrived at the viewpoint. Hot and sweaty, there was at least a touch of breeze as we took in the summery grandeur of The Danube.

And of course we got our view of the fortress, which looks nothing short of splendorous after a lengthy restoration project that saw much of the place under scaffolding between 2014 and 2019.

Later we returned to the visitor centre where it was time to enter the fortress and consider what even at a cursory glance is a long and messy history.

With a familiar backstory the fortress experienced a host of bloody battles throughout the centuries. In what I imagine as a twisted version of musical chairs it changed hands innumerable times. From the mediaeval Serbs to the Ottomans. From the Ottomans to the Hungarians, then back to the Turks, next into the hands of the Austrians.

The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

Finally, the battered old joint went back to the Serbs when the Ottomans handed it over to Prince Mihailo Obrenović in 1867. And it has remained under Serbian control ever since. 

Visiting the fortress and getting access to its towers is a surprisingly convoluted affair. Truly, I have never seen anything like it. Basically they have split the grounds up into different zones.

Each zone grants visitors access to certain towers and comes with increasing degrees of climbing difficulty. The taller the tower and more challenging the scramble to get up there, the higher the ticket price. Furthermore, certain zones can only be tackled if fortress staff are happy with your footwear.

After much deliberation Sladja and I opted for The Red Zone, a somewhat precarious ascent that enabled us to visit a number of towers, including the much-coveted Tower 7 (Zone III) and its pick-of-the-bunch views.

The Red Zone.

Neither of us are much into adventure sports or adrenaline-fuelled antics. But I must concede that we really enjoyed the climb. There was a chain-link rope to hold onto for balance and we even had a guide (mandatory) walk up with us.

But it was still a challenge to carefully choose each step as we hopped from rock to rock in the burning heat.

At the top we gratefully hauled ourselves onto the upper walkway that leads to Tower 7. But oh lord, we definitely needed a timeout before going any further. One of us was intent on immediately taking in the fabulous views.

While one of us simply needed to recover, physically and mentally.

Another fantastic thing about paying for red zone access is that they stagger how many people can be on the trail, walkway and tower at any given time. As a result, we had it all to ourselves. Well, except for a safety officer….

… and these pigeons. Which was actually very apt, as the fortress’ name roughly translates to English as “pigeon city“.

The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

Overall we felt like our decision to pay extra for red zone access paid off handsomely. After all, the views were magnificent and it was great to get away from the main area of foot traffic.

Before leaving we did spend some time looking around the main exhibition. It was quite lively, with a large school group exiting (thankfully) just as we entered and a lecture underway about the recent restoration.

The exhibit provides a decent overview of the fortress’ history. We also enjoyed the presentation of traditional medieval clothing. These replica pieces were used in the popular Serbian TV series Nemanjić Dynasty: The Birth of the Kingdom.

Curious, I went online to check out the show. Unfortunately the general consensus is that the series is rubbish, with accusations of “cringeworthy dialogue”, “zero character development” and “historical inaccuracies”. Well… at least the clothes looked good.

The cruises depart hourly from Golubac Marina. A local guide and historian, Jovan Kocmanovic, runs the tours from his little boat Peristeron. As we arrived that day a group was just returning, so we had a quick chat with Jovan to consider our options. In truth we had been tempted by a private tour, but considered his quote way too pricy. Around 100 Euros if I remember well.

So we went for two seats on a regular group tour and waited. It was late afternoon and this was to be the last cruise of the day. I assumed the boat would be sold out but nobody came. Finally, Jovan gave us a smile and announced that we’d be getting a private experience after all, but at a heavily discounted price!

At last we were chugging through the delicious blue of The Danube. As we went Jovan chatted a little with Sladja in Serbian while uncle and I sat engrossed by the whoosh of the river as it lapped the sides of our vessel.  I couldn’t help but surmise that Jovan and his uncle never get bored of this.

The Fairytale Fortress of Golubac.

Sensing the romance of the moment, Jovan wisely dropped the commentary and gave Sladja and I some quiet time together.

Before too long the fortress came into view, a proud beast that stands in defiance of everything the centuries have thrown at it.

As we closed in, Jovan slowed the boat down to ensure we made a gradual and more dramatic approach. And then brought us to a stop so that we could grab some shots right in front of her.

It was magical. But our stay in front of the fortress proved all-too-brief and suddenly we were turning and making our way back to the marina. All four of us sat in contemplative silence. In the distance I spotted a canoeist resting in the middle of The Danube. Not a bad way to bid adieu to a summer’s day.

Fittingly, the sun had begun its lazy descent into the horizon. I’m not sure if this was the most memorable Danube sunset of our travels across eastern Serbia, but it was certainly a worthy contender.

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