Monyak Peak and Fortress (Monek)

The medieval fortress and Mount Monyak (Monek, Manyak) are located about 11 km from the town of Kardjali, next to the village of Shiroko Pole, above the Studen Kladenets dam.

Climbing Mount Monyak (586 m) is worth it for the incredible view you will be able to enjoy. The steep cliffs, which are also inhabited by vultures, the Studen Kladenets dam, the town of Kardzhali and the enchanting Eastern Rhodopes are part of what will delight your eyes from the top.

From Monek you can also see Visegrad Fortress.

The trail to the top is well marked. In the summer, bring plenty of water as there are sections where there is no shade.

The history of the fortress guarding the peak for centuries is just as captivating and enchanting as the view from the high rocks. According to available medieval sources, the largest city in Ahridos during the 12th-14th centuries was the fortress of Mneakos, located in the valley of the Middle Arda, east of the town of Kardzhali. The ruins of the large fortress above the village of Shiroko Pole are in optical visibility and have a direct line of sight to the episcopal center in the "Veselchani" neighbourhood . A little further away, near the current village of Vishegrad, 2 km from the large stronghold, there is another fortress, whose walls are still excellently preserved today (known among the people as the Vishegrad Fortress). Together with Perperikon, Mneakos is the most well-documented fortress in the Eastern Rhodopes according to historical sources. It is mentioned in the "History" by Georgi Akropolit, which describes the Bulgarian-Byzantine war of 1254-1255, one of the sources that best depict the situation in the Central and Eastern Rhodopes during the 13th century. However, unlike Perperikon, Mneakos is noted in a non-Greek source referring to the first decade of the 13th century, concerning the events surrounding the Bulgarian-Latin wars of 1205-1207, as described by the French chronicler Geoffroy de Villehardouin. He describes in great detail that it was indeed under Mneakos, in the fertile and picturesque valley of the Art (Arda) River, where the Latins set up their camp and learned for certain about the death of the first Latin Emperor Baldwin in Tarnovo. Here, beneath the fortress itself, the baronial council of the Latin Empire gathered and elected Anry as the new emperor. It is believed that Mneakos is also mentioned in another earlier Western European source describing the history of the Third Crusade (1189-1192). During that time, the outlaws rampaging in Thrace conducted plundering raids in the region of Philippopolis-Adrianople-Didymoteicho. If the information presented in the source indeed refers to Mneakos, it would represent the earliest mention of the medieval
stronghold in the Eastern Rhodopes.

Considering that Mneakos was the administrative
center of Ahridos during the 13th-14th centuries, according to historical sources, several notable governors resided there. From 1993 to 1996, archaeological excavations and comprehensive geophysical surveys were conducted at the fortress. These were a continuation of the partial soundings carried out by I. Balkanski in 1972-1973. At the foot of the high hill, remnants of monuments from various eras were found, including rock tombs and hewn Thracian niches.

The stronghold consists of two separate defensive sections: an outer city and a citadel at the highest point. The medieval fortress is situated on an extremely steep, rocky peak, with three of its sides being sheer cliffs towering hundreds of meters above the surrounding Arda River. It is one of the highest fortresses in Bulgaria, with the peak reaching 586.7 meters above sea level. Additionally, it is one of the largest fortresses in the country, covering an area exceeding 20,000 square meters. Along its longest axis, Mneakos stretches nearly 0.5 km. The fortress wall encloses about half of the city in the more accessible western, southwestern, and northern directions. To the northeast and southeast, the terrain drops into sheer cliffs, making fortifications unnecessary. The fortress wall is characteristic of the medieval era, built from roughly cut stones bonded with strong white mortar. The foundations of the wall rest directly on the rock, which was carved in places for better adhesion. On the vulnerable western and northern sides, the fortress wall was thicker and likely higher, whereas, on the steep and inaccessible southwestern cliffs, it was thinner and considerably lower. At its peak, the fortress was an impressive and picturesque sight, with its walls rising to incredible heights. In its completed form, the city of Mneakos had three towers, positioned around the entrance area and to the southeast of it. This does not include the numerous towers of the inner castle, which occupied the easternmost part of the fortress and defended the eastern approach. The fortress gate was located in the lower western corner of the stronghold, the most accessible area, from which a road cut into the rock led downward. The main defensive structure guarding the entrance was a massive hollow tower with an irregular trapezoidal plan. Excavations have revealed that the tower was coated externally with a white lime plaster, applied in a way that left the large rounded stones partially exposed, creating a decorative mosaic-like effect. The interior of the tower was divided into multiple levels, accessible via wooden stairs. Today, the ruins of this structure rise to a height of 5.2 meters. The width of the fortress entrance can only be estimated at approximately 3 to 3.2 meters. It was likely a double-winged gate, made of solid wooden panels reinforced with large, diamond-shaped iron nails with sharp spikes. From the inside, the gate was secured with a massive wooden bar. The approach to the tower and the battlement walkway was via a massive staircase attached to the inner side of the fortress wall. At a slightly later stage in the history of Mneakos, a second, solid corner tower with an irregular trapezoidal plan was built along the fortress wall, to the northwest of the gate. This addition formed a classic gateway defense with two flanking towers. The third tower of the city was constructed along the southern section of the fortress wall. Although this part appeared nearly impregnable due to the steep slopes and scree descending toward the Arda River, a careful examination reveals a narrow approach that, though difficult, could allow access to the fortress. The tower was relatively small, solid, and rectangular in shape. It was likely used as a watchtower due to its excellent vantage point over the valley.

Fifty meters north of the fortress entrance, outside its walls, the inhabitants built a large water reservoir, which was uncovered during excavations. The cistern utilized a natural rock fracture, which was further carved to form a rectangular shape. The basin was lined with rubble stones, generously bonded with white mortar. It was filled with water from a small lake located about a hundred meters away, beneath the fortress wall. To facilitate this, a clay pipe aqueduct was constructed, as evidenced by fragments found on-site. Additionally, the reservoir was supplied by rainwater. Inside the fortress, another water collection basin was discovered in the basement of a large multi-story building, situated about seventy meters southwest of the inner fortifications. This structure, first recorded by Iv. Balkanski and later studied, had an excellent southern exposure while being well-protected from northern winds by the surrounding rocks. Its proximity to the citadel and the findings from archaeological excavations suggest that a high-ranking individual, possibly the garrison commander, resided there. In some areas, the carved rock itself served as a wall for the basement level, with grooves cut into the stone to support the now-lost upper walls. In other sections, the walls were constructed from rubble stone, bound with white mortar. The floor was made of natural rock, meticulously leveled with chisels and covered with a thick layer of waterproof mortar mixed with crushed brick and fragments of ceramic vessels. This basement was used for storing drinking water, collected through a well-designed catchment system. Rainwater was skillfully directed into the cistern through a network of channels.

A second large building in the city was also discovered, located about 50 m east of the main gate. Like the first, this building also used a natural rock fault, where a basement was formed. This building probably had several floors. In order to form the basement, the walls of the rock fault were also carved and leveled and subsequently lined with walls, as the floor, after the rock was cut and leveled, was covered with flat bricks, poured with mortar. Given the ceramic vessels found in the basement (amphorae, pitchers, pots, cups), it was probably a huge food warehouse. The southern terrace at the top impresses with its convenient location for living, which has also been proven during archaeological excavations. During the research, numerous household items were found there (spindle vertebrae, awls, knives, needles, bells, flints, lead weights, a water bucket, ceramic vessels), numerous animal bones, spear and arrowheads, bronze coins, clothing decorations (bronze and iron appliqués), fragments of a bronze ring, a bronze bracelet, iron buckles (for military belts), as well as hundreds of iron nails that were used in the construction of wooden buildings and fastened the massive beams and boards in them. Entire families lived there with their household goods and farm tools, and the men were probably warriors. The inner "castle" of Mneakos is perched on the highest eastern part of the fortified hill. It is a very important link in the overall fortification of the city, because it blocks the relatively vulnerable eastern and southeastern directions. The inner fortification covers an area of ​​2000 sq. m. Following the configuration of the terrain, the fortress has acquired oval outlines. The defensive walls of the citadel are thinner than those of the city itself, but the construction method is not particularly different - quarry stones, bonded with white mortar. There are five towers built along the fortress walls of the citadel, they are solid and are built similarly to the fortress wall from quarry stones on mortar. The northern tower is the only semicircular one, the others, the northwestern, western and southeastern, have an irregular quadrangular plan, as the southern tower is completely defaced and today its plan can only be restored by assumptions. It is not excluded that there was another tower on the completely destroyed southwestern section of the fortress wall. The gate (which has a rather complex structure) of the inner castle, which is located in the northwestern part of the fortress wall and leads to the city, is well preserved. It is flanked by the semicircular and nearby quadrangular towers. The gate was probably double-winged, on the outer side of which, like the main city gate, nails with wide heads were driven for reinforcement and decorative decoration, and there was probably an arch above it, formed of limestone blocks and bricks, conclusions based on the materials discovered during the archaeological excavations. Like the other two studied buildings in the city, one was also discovered here, and for it a natural rock fault was also used, which was further processed, by placing a rectangular building built of broken stones bonded with white mortar in it. Fragments of hydrophobic plaster were found in it, which gives reason to assume that the lower floor was used as a water reservoir or warehouse. Certainly, in addition to the studied quadrangular building, there are other buildings there. In this regard, the information of Iv. Balkanski, that during excavations 30 years ago, several Christian burials with pectoral crosses made of some mineral were unearthed. This suggests the existence of a church in the citadel. We could mention here that several other similar citadels were explored in the Eastern Rhodopes at the time, such as that of Mneakos, near Ustra, Vishegrad and Bashevo. Mneakos is a typical military fortress, inhabited in peacetime by a small garrison and craftsmen associated with its maintenance. The population lived in unfortified quarters and settlements at the foot of the peak and by the river. (Literature: N. Ovcharov, D. Kodzhamanova, Perperikon and the surrounding fortresses during the Middle Ages, Fortress construction in the Eastern Rhodopes, 2003)

But in the end, every story told and every historical fact loses its meaning at some point. Just as it does not matter which path you take to the summit—whether you follow the old road to the right at the entrance of Shiroko Pole or take the turnoff to the right on the main road from Kardzhali, marked by the brown signposts for historical and other landmarks. The breathtaking view and the intoxicating feeling that centuries ago, others stood in this very spot—at the top of the rock, gazing into the vast Rhodope Mountains, admiring the same vibrant and picturesque landscape, perhaps even in their final moments—immerse every visitor in an enchanting atmosphere. It fills them with energy, leaving them speechless and longing to return again and again to this fairytale-like place, this small but magnificent part of our beautiful country.

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Categories

• Historical landmarks
• Fortresses

Features

• Instagrammable
• Lake or dam view

Regions

• Kardzhali city

Location

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