The "Virgin Fortress" in Vidin

Today’s Vidin is a small provincial town in the north-western part of Bulgaria, unknown to most tourists. Nevertheless, the town’s history goes back many centuries – it was founded in antiquity on the site of a Celtic settlement, and in the Middle Ages it became the last Bulgarian town to submit to the Ottoman conquerors. The town’s glorious past is recalled by the Baba Vida castle, located in the Vidin fortress.

The mistress of the castle

There is a legend explaining the fortress’s name. According to the tale, Vida was the daughter of a noble boyar. Her sisters married very unhappily, so Vida preferred to remain alone. She built an imposing fortress and settled in it. And since by the time the fortress was completed the girl had already become an elderly woman, she came to be called “Baba Vida”, and then the fortress came to be called the same.

The Baba Vida castle is known as the only fully preserved Bulgarian medieval fortress. Built in the 10th century on the site of a ruined Roman fortification, it has survived many wars and other events, yet has been superbly preserved.

Standing on the bank of the Danube, at the very point where the river makes a sharp turn, the castle was fortified by Ivan Sratsimir, the last Bulgarian ruler of the Second Kingdom. Around it the walls of the Vidin fortress were raised, which the Ottomans nicknamed the “Virgin” because no one managed to take this citadel by force.

Nevertheless, this stronghold fell too. And during the Ottoman rule the fortress was used by the Turkish invaders, who continued to extend and strengthen it. However, at the end of the 18th century the castle was turned into an arms depot and a prison, and was no longer used as a defensive structure.

Visiting the fortress

Today the fortress houses a museum. During the fortress’s restoration its exterior appearance and interior furnishings were carefully preserved, so visitors have the chance to feel themselves inside a real medieval castle by visiting this atmospheric place.

There is a summer theatre on the grounds of the fortress. The fortress grounds are also often used as a set for film shoots.

Two towers are currently open to visitors. One of them housed a prison, and today visitors are offered the chance to see the old instruments of torture that were in use in that prison.

The admission fee is 4 leva for adults and 2 leva for children.

In summer the fortress is open from 8-30 to 17-30, in winter from 9 to 17 every day, but at weekends the opening hours are slightly shorter.

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