Thracian fortress near Milanovo

The fortress is situated on 500 meters altitude on a mountain slope with southern exposure. It occupies an area of about 400 sq. meters and is easily accessible from the main road leading from the Iskar Gorge to the village Milanovo. At the same road lies also a tourist trail managed by the Nature Park "Vratsa Balkan", but it begins from the section before the fortress and leads north to Milanovo.

The fortress is easily accessible by a path that starts from the second U-turn to the right on the asphalt road. The path goes straight away on the flat mountain terrace on which are clearly visible remains of two ramparts. The biggest part of the surface is covered with ruins of stones that probably belong to the ruined stone buildings. The southern slope of the terrace is hanging over the Iskar Gorge and from here is open a panoramic view to railway station Lakatnik. At the edge of the slope are well seen the outline of the foundations of the fortification wall that cuts the southern slope of the hill. In the southeastern part are preserved the remains of three chain premises, built of stones without mortar. The walls reach up to 1 m in height and are preserved thanks to its lightweight digging into the hillside.

In the southeastern ledge of the slope are visible foundations of a round tower, also preserved in height of one meter. From the tower begins a well preserved wall of the fortification with thickness of about 1.5 meters, built in same technics as the other rooms.

The whole terrain north of the chain rooms and the tower is studded with stone clusters that probably belong to ruined buildings. The site has been subject of interest of treasure-hunting activity as in many places are visible attempts of digging. Still, the ruins and the fallen stones didn’t allow the illegal excavations to go into depth and this partially preserved the site.

The manner of construction (small stones on a dry solder), retained data about the layout of the fortress and its localization suggest existence in the Thracian period.

The fortress is located in a very accessible place and although is not included in any of the hiking trails near Lakatnik rocks, apparently is subject of interest to visitors. At the place is placed handmade table with benches and some of the fallen stones are arranged to resemble old houses.

Due to the well-preserved rooms and the easy access, this fortress could easily be turned into an attractive place for visitors.