Zindan Gate
From the southeast, it is accessed via a wooden bridge over dry moat from an "inside" direction of the Despots's Gate and People's Observatory in Dizdar's Tower.
Another wooden bridge on the counter or "outside", southeast side connects it to the Leopold's Gate, Kalmegdan Terrace restaurant, and further to Belgrade Zoo and Little Kalemegdan.
[2][4][5] Rampart just south of the gate was probed during archaeological surveys and the walls of the Roman castrum Singidunum were discovered.
Unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans sultan Murad II to conquer Belgrade in 1440, showed that gates within the fortress are among the main weak spots in defense of the city.
It is strategically placed on an elevation, which sharply descends from the Arched Rampart into the Lower Town and the confluence of Danube and Sava.
The Zindan Gate's line of fire, which included seven cannons, was one of the most modern solutions used in Europe at the time.
[1] The 1456 Siege of Belgrade under sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror was the first recorded artillery defense in the fortress, which helped to again defend the city from the Ottomans.
They decided to turn the fortress into the bulwark of Christendom and hired Venetian architect Andrea Cornaro to head the reconstruction of the entire complex, including the Zindan Gate.
The period saw unprecedented transformation of the entire fortress, which was remodeled into the bastion fort after the plans and designs by the Swiss military engineer Nicolas Doxat.
[6] In October 1915, a grenade fired from the 42 cm Gamma Mörser hit the fortress wall right above the church but didn't explode.
Church was badly damaged by this time and if the grenade exploded (cartridge weighted 900 kg (2,000 lb) and contained 96 kg (212 lb) of TNT), it would destroy the wall of the Zindan Gate tower which was hit and would level the church to the ground as it is located below the wall.
Works also included moisture problems solving, revitalization of the walls and their statics, and reconstruction of the side rooms to make them usable again.
[3] The Zindan Gate occupies northeastern corner of the fortress' ridge and is one of four entries into the Upper Town.
