Fortress Kastel

Castel Fortress is the oldest historical monument in the city of Banja Luka. The oldest traces of settlements in the area of ​​Banja Luka are the remains of a Neolithic castle settlement that were just found in the area of ​​the city fortress Kastel. It is located in the central part of the city, which dominates the left bank of Vrbas.

Assumptions about the origin of the fortress

There are no reliable data on the time of creation of this object. However, many circumstances point to the conclusion that the Roman settlement of Castra was located there. The Romans were exposed to frequent attacks by barbarian peoples, and they certainly had strong enough reasons to defend the road that passed through the Vrbas valley. These claims are also supported by the archaeological findings that were found in the area of ​​today’s Castello, which relate to Roman ceramics, money and construction. A particularly important find is an ancient altar dedicated to the god Jupiter found in 1885 during the construction of a bridge over Crkvena. Also, the remains of a Slavic settlement from the early Middle Ages (from the 8th to the 12th century) were found on the territory of the fortress. In the Bosnian medieval state, there was the town of Vrba, which according to one hypothesis was located on the site of today’s Kastel. However, according to another assumption, the town of Vrba is identified with Podgradci in Potkozarje.