Top 10 Fortresses

10. Krak des Chevaliers, Syria

Krak des Chevaliers is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the /Castle of the Kurds/. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the Knights Hospitaller. The castle sits atop a 650 meters high hill east of Tartus, Syria, in the Homs Gap. On the other side of the gap, 27 km away, was the 12th-century Gibelacar Castle.

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9. Tsepina Fortress, Bulgaria

Tsepina Fortress (Bulgarian: Цепина) was a castle and town in the western Rhodope mountains, southern Bulgaria, now in ruins. It is located at 6 km from the Dorkovo village in the north-eastern part of the Chepinska valley. The fortress is on the top of the Tsepina Peak (1136 m).

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8. Belogradchik Fortress, Bulgaria

The Belogradchik Fortress (Bulgarian: Белоградчишка крепост), also known as Kaleto (The Fortress from Turkish kale), is an ancient fortress close to the northwestern Bulgarian town of Belogradchik and the primary cultural and historical tourist attraction of the town, drawing, together with the Belogradchik Rocks, the main flow of tourists into the region. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance.

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7. Ovech Fortress, Bulgaria

Ovech fortress is situated east of the present city Provadia. Located on the mountain plateau above the city bearing the name Kaleto. The fortress was built by the Byzantines and functions from IV century to the beginning of VII century, after that nearly a century it is not active. Occupation and re-started from the XI century to the end of the XVII century. Zenith, however, suffered during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The Byzantines called the fortress - Provaton, Bulgarians - Ovech and Turks - Tash Hisar (stone fortress). In the historical chronicles of the XII century was mentioned by name Burfanta.

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6. Château de Montségur, France

The Château de Montségur is a former fortress near Montségur, a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Its ruins are the site of a razed stronghold of the Cathars. The present fortress on the site, though described as one of the Cathar castles, is actually of a later period. It has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1862.

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5. Saalburg, Germany

The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the Taunus ridge northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a Cohort Fort belonging to the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, located just off the main road roughly halfway between Bad Homburg and Wehrheim is the most completely reconstructed Roman fort in Germany.

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4. Baba Vida Fortress, Bulgaria

Baba Vida Fortress (Bulgarian: Крепост Баба Вида) is a medieval fortress in Vidin in northwestern Bulgaria and the town's primary landmark. It consists of two fundamental walls and four towers and is said to be the only entirely preserved medieval castle in the country. The construction of the fortress began in the 10th century at the place of an Ancient Roman watchtower. The building of Baba Vida is tied to a legend, according to which a Danubian Bulgarian king who ruled at Vidin had three daughters: Vida, Kula and Gamza. Prior to his death, he divided his realm among the three.

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3. Anevo Fortress, Bulgaria

The Anevo Fortress or Kopsis is a medieval castle in central Bulgaria, the ruins of which are located some 3 km from the village of Anevo in Sopot Municipality, Plovdiv Province. Constructed in the first half of the 12th century, it lies on a steep hilltop at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains, not far from the Stryama river.

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2. Fort Jefferson, United States

Fort Jefferson is a massive but unfinished coastal fortress. It is the largest masonry structure in the Americas, and is composed of over 16 million bricks. The Dry Tortugas are part of Monroe County, Florida, United States. The fort is located on Garden Key in the lower Florida Keys within the Dry Tortugas National Park, about 110 km west of the island of Key West.

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1. Lovech Fortress, Bulgaria

Lovech fortress is located on a hill Hissar in the southern part of Lovech. The fortress is from the Roman Empire, when the territory of Lovech today is built and operated Roman road station called Presidium. The castle is one of the last captured by the Ottoman Turks in Bulgaria.

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