The Baba Vida Castle

The Baba Vida castle is one of the greatest historical monuments, located in the north-east part of Vidin on the curving bank of the Danube river. The foundations of the medieval castle, which is the only completely preserved military fortification in Bulgaria, were laid in the 10 century, on the remains of the Roman castle of Bononia. In 12-14 it was residence of the boyars Rostislav, Yakov Svetoslav, Shishman, and king Ivan Sratzimir. Nowadays, it stretches on an area of 5 decares and consists of 2 walls, forming an inner court yard. The area, enclosed by the inner wall, is laid with adjacent vaulted premises, which surround a small inner court yard. In 1964, the castle was declared a historical monument of national significance. According to one of the legends, the Baba Vida castle was built by one of the daughters of a powerful Bulgarian boyar, who owned large domains from the Carpathians to the Balkan. After his death his three daughters, Vida, Koula and Gamza, divided the domains among themselves. The two younger sisters, Koula and Gamza married hastily.They choose bad men, who carelessly wasted their father's heritage. The eldest sister, Vida stayed single all her life. Under her leadership a castle was built up. She lived in it up to a ripe old age, successfully defending her subjects from hostile assaults. As a sign of gratitude, people named the castle after her name when she died - Baba Vida or The Towers of Baba