Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.31953/sz.45.1.10
BUŽIM UNDERGROUND FORTIFICATIONS
Vlado Božić
Abstract
Bužim is a municipality 15 kilometres northwest of Gospić, whose territory is mentioned in
literature from the 11th century. In its centre there are now the remains of a fort about which there
is no accurate data of when it was built, but it is known that it was ruled by renowned aristocrats of
Lika until the arrival of the Ottomans in Lika in the 16th century. Likewise as elsewhere in Croatia
people who tried to save themselves from the invaders by hiding in mountains and caves who for
the sake of defence built underground fortifications.
In the Bužim region speleologists have explored the Vrbas cave, the Špilja cave under the
fort and the Kalvarija cave. Unfortunately, historians and archaeologists have not researched the
caves and so, for now, all exists is the data from the speleologists gathered in their speleological
exploration. A particular feature of these caves is the construction work inside them, in other
words, the construction of the walls which prevented unwanted people from breaching into the
deeper part of the cave.
Keywords
Bužim; underground fortifications; cave
Hrčak ID:
214570
URI
Publication date:
27.12.2018.
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