In the past fortresses were the most important military objects which provided defense, safety of population, but also contributed to the military domination at a strategically important area. The coastline of the Danube had the greatest strategic significance in preserving the waterway which was the most important traffic artery of this part of Europe until the end of the 19th century. Therefore the most significant as well as the most monumental fortresses were built exactly on the banks of the Danube. The Danube fortress - Bac, Petrovaradin, Kalemegdan, Smederevo, Ram, Golubac and near the Romanian border, Fetislam.
Using archaeological evidence and first-hand sources, Konstantin Nossov charts the history of the medieval Russian fortress from its early beginnings until the 14th century.According to Russian legend, in AD 862, the Slav tribes of what is now European Russia invited a number of Scandinavian princes to rule over them. In AD 882, Prince Oleg united these kingdoms as the feudal state of Kievan Rus, by building a series of settlement and border fortifications, including the Zmievy Valy (Snake Ramparts), to protect against foreign invasion.
