In the vicinity of the village of Mezek (Svilengrad municipality), on the hill Kaleto rise the remains of a medieval Byzantine fortress from the end of the XI century. It is the best preserved defensive structure in the Rhodopes. The fortress had the functions of a border guard fortress. It guarded areas between the rivers Maritsa and Arda. It is located on the outskirts of the village of Mezek, 6 km southwest of Svilengrad and only 1 km from the Greek border.
Some historians believe that this is the fortress of Neutzikon known from written sources, and other scholars believe that this place was the fortress of Versinikia, near which in 813 Khan Krum defeated the Byzantine troops and conquered Thrace.
Several archeological excavations have uncovered objects from before the 11th century. The construction of the fortress dates back to the time of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1117). The walls of the fortress surround an area of about 7 acres in the shape of an irregular quadrilateral measuring 110/60 m and are made of quarry stones, welded with white mortar, decorated with three brick belts on the outside. The fortress wall ended with ridges, which were preserved until 1900.
The defense of the fortress is reinforced with nine towers with a rounded shape and a height of over 10 m. Five of the towers are located on the southern fortress wall (two corner and three on the front), two on the west (in the middle and at the main entrance) and one on the north and east walls. The fortress functioned until the Ottoman invasion at the end of the 14th century. It was conceived as a solid fortification unit and there was an intensive life in it. Several granaries with charred wheat were discovered, where food supplies were stored. Numerous iron arrowheads, spurs and horseshoes have been found, testifying to the daily life of the garrison soldiers. Stone mills, metal tools and other similar objects tell about the way of life of the ordinary population.
The fortress near the village of Mezek was very well preserved until the beginning of the XX century. Part of it was destroyed around 1900, when stones were taken from there for the construction of Turkish barracks in Svilengrad. The northern fortress wall suffered the most. It is preserved to ground level on the inside. The south, west and east sides have been preserved to the height of the platform, above which their ridges rose.
The fortress was declared a National Antiquity and an architectural monument from Antiquity and the Middle Ages and promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 221/1927 and no. 67/1968. In 1963 and 1973 restoration and conservation activities were carried out, as well as in 2007. A tourist information center was built, offering information and brochures.
In addition to views of the village and the surrounding area, in clear weather the towers offer a panoramic view of the White Sea.
The village of Mezek is located 11 km southwest of Svilengrad. Its name was first documented in the Ottoman registers in 1582. After the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin, it remained within the borders of Turkey. In 1913, the Treaty of Bucharest returned Mezek to Bulgaria.
The tourist trail from the village to Sheynovets peak leads nature and history lovers to the place where the Balkan War began in 1912.
