2017Europa - Castles - First Day Cover

The oldest traces of settlements on the territory of Banjaluka are the remnants of Neolithic settlement that were exactly found on the territory of the city fortress Kastel. It is found in the central part of the city, which dominates over the left bank of the river Vrbas.
There are no confident data on the period of foundation of this object. However, many circumstances point to a conclusion that exactly on this location there was a Roman settlement Castra. The Romans were exposed to frequent rushes of barbarian nations, and they had strong reasons to defend the road that passed through the basin of the river Vrbas. On behalf of such statements there are archaeological findings that were discovered on the territory of current Kastel, and it refers to the Roman ceramics, money and architecture. A particularly important finding is the antique altar dedicated to the God Jupiter, found in 1885. Further on, on the territory of the fortress remnants of the Slavic settlements from the period of early Middle Age were found (from VIII to XII century).