Beiului Fortress

This fortress, located in a picturesque natural setting on the Nera Gorges, is known by various names: Socolari Fortress, Ilidia Fortress, Potoc Fortress, Bei Fortress, or Terezia Fortress. In the case of the last name, we are once again faced with a confusion in folk memory. If, in the case of other Banat vestiges, there is an erroneous attribution to the Ottoman era, although they are due, as previously mentioned, to the Habsburg period of the 18th century, this time, an older fortress is known as "Terezia Fortress," although its origins date back at least to the 16th century, but it is very likely to have an even older existence, extended until the 19th century.

The existence of Bei Fortress in the superb natural setting of the area, where it harmoniously integrates with Lake Ochiul Beiului and the Beușnița Waterfall, has given rise to a series of beautiful legends. "Starting from the edge of the village (Socolari), the road first climbs a vast slope, then follows approximately the contour line, in a deforested landscape, with quite a bit of rocky terrain, desolate. It passes the thread of a stream, then circumvents Citadel Hill, where the ruins of an old fortress perched on the rocky peak of the hill dominate the stretches to the west. The fortress, apparently built during the Ottoman period, was an important strategic point." (4) Then come the legends that the Ochiul Beiului lake either originates from the tears of the lord of the fortress at the loss of his daughter, or from the tears of his daughter at the loss of her beloved.

The fact that the ruins of a medieval fortress are within the protected natural reserve of the Nera Gorges only enhances their beauty and attractiveness. It contributes to the merging of natural and historical knowledge, as works dedicated to the geographic and biological framework of the Nera Gorges mention Bei Fortress, and historical writings must refer on this occasion to the splendid natural landscape of the mountainous Banat.

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