Baba Vida stands where the Danube makes the frontier, at Vidin in north-western Bulgaria. The site was fortified long before the present castle: a Roman settlement occupied the riverbank, and the medieval builders reused its position and part of its material. What survives is unusually complete. A moat, an outer wall, an inner enclosure and a set of towers form a compact quadrangle, and enough of the structure remains for a visitor to follow the whole defensive logic of the place: the sequence of gates, the wall-walks, the stairs, the chambers inside the towers, the vantage points over the river. Few fortresses in the region can be read so directly. The castle carries a body of legend, beginning with the name itself, attached in popular tradition to a woman who is said to have defended it. In its later history it served as garrison, prison and arsenal; today its courtyard is used for concerts and open-air theatre, and the fortress is one of the emblems of the Bulgarian Danube. Filmed in 4K, with aerial views of the river front and detailed work inside the towers, the programme suits strands on history and military architecture.
