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Gord (Slavic settlement)
Encyclopedia
Gord is a medieval
Slavic fortified settlement. This Proto-Slavic word (*gordъ) for town or city, later differentiated into grad (Cyrillic
: град), gard, gorod (Cyrillic: город), etc. The ancient peoples were known for building wooden fortified settlements. The reconstructed Centum-satem isogloss
word for such a settlement is g'herdh , gordъ, related to the Germanic
*gard and *gart (as in Stuttgart
, Białogard, Stargard etc.).
Similar strongholds were built during the late Bronze
and early Iron Age
s by the people of the Lusatian culture
(ca. 1300 BC – 500 BC), and later in the 7th - 8th centuries CE
in modern-day Russia
, Belarus
, Ukraine
, Poland
, Slovakia
, Czech Republic
and eastern Germany
. These settlements were usually founded on strategic sites such as hills, riverbanks, lake islands or peninsulas.
A typical gord was a group of wooden houses, built either in rows or in circles, surrounded by one or more rings of walls made of earth and wood, a palisade
and/or moat
s. Some gords were ring-shaped, with a round, oval or occasionally polygonal fence or wall surrounding a hollow. Others, built on a natural hill or a man-made mound, were cone-shaped. Those with a natural defense on one side, such as a river or lake, were usually horseshoe-shaped.
Most gords were built in densely-populated areas, and situated in places which presented particular natural advantages. However, as Slavic tribes united into states, gords were also built for defense purposes in less populated border areas.
Those gords which served as a ruler's residence or lay on trade routes, quickly expanded. A suburbium formed near or below the gord. Its population served the residents of the gord and could shelter within the gord's walls in the event of danger. Eventually the suburbium would have its own fence or wall. In the High Middle Ages
, the gord would normally evolve into a castle
or citadel
(kremlin
); the suburbium – into a town
.
Some other gords, which did not stand the test of time and were abandoned or destroyed, gradually turned into more or less discernible mounds or rings of earth (known in Russian
as gorodische, in Polish
as grodzisko, in Ukrainian
as horodyshche, in Slovak
as hradisko and in Czech
as hradiště). Notable archeological sites include Biskupin
, Poland and Bilsk, Ukraine (see Gelonus
).
; cognate
s are many English words related to enclosure: "yard", "girdle," and "court." In some modern Slavic languages, *gordъ has evolved into words for a "garden
" (likewise a fenced area, from which Latin hortus, and English horticulture and orchard): the Ukrainian
ґород (gorod) and город (horod), the Bulgarian
and Macedonian
градина (gradina), the Polish
ogród, the Slovak
záhrada, the Czech
zahrada, the Russian
огород (ogorod). In some Slavic languages, *gord has evolved into a word for "town" or "city": the Russian
gorod, the ancient Pomeranian
and modern Kaszubian
gard, the Bulgarian
, Croatian
, Macedonian
and Serbian
град, grad. The Slovak
and Czech
hrad and Slovene grad have evolved to mean "fortified castle." The Polish
gród and Ukrainian
horod retain their original meaning of an "ancient fortified settlement."
Polish word podgrodzie meant settlement near a town (Slavic prefix pod- means "under" or "below", equivalet of Latin sub-) because in fact gród was built at hill's top frequently. It survived to these days in names of several villages (i.e. Podgrodzie, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
) and town's districts (i.e. district of Olsztyn
).
The names of many Central and Eastern European cities hark back to their past as gords. Some of them are in countries which used to be, but no longer are, inhabited mostly by Slavic-speaking peoples. Examples include: Novgorod, Gorodets
, Volgograd
(Russia
); Hrodna
, Davyd-Haradok
, Haradok
, Navahrudak (Belarus
); Uzhhorod
, Horodok
, Horodysche
(Ukraine
); Hradec Králové
, Vyšehrad
(Czech Republic
); Stargard Szczeciński
, Starogard Gdański
, Nowogard
, Ogrodzieniec
, Grodzisk Mazowiecki
(Poland
); Dravograd
, Gornji Grad
(Slovenia
); Biograd, Stari Grad
(Croatia
); Visegrád
(Hungary
); Belgrade
(Beograd), Dimitrovgrad
, Veliko Gradište
(Serbia
); Danilovgrad
(Montenegro
); Blagoevgrad
, Asenovgrad
, Razgrad
(Bulgaria
); Gradsko
(Republic of Macedonia
); Novohrad region, many places named Hradisko
(Slovakia
) or Hradište
(Czech Republic
); Graz
(Austria
); Gartz
, Stuttgart
(Germany
); Pogradec
(Albania
), Višegrad
(Bosnia and Herzegovina
).
In old Iran (Persia) Gerd had the same meaning. This word changed to Jerd after Arab invasion. Burugerd or Borujerd
is a city in West of Iran.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Slavic fortified settlement. This Proto-Slavic word (*gordъ) for town or city, later differentiated into grad (Cyrillic
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
: град), gard, gorod (Cyrillic: город), etc. The ancient peoples were known for building wooden fortified settlements. The reconstructed Centum-satem isogloss
Centum-Satem isogloss
The centum-satem division is an isogloss of the Indo-European language family, related to the different evolution of the three dorsal consonant rows of the mainstream reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European:...
word for such a settlement is g'herdh , gordъ, related to the Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
*gard and *gart (as in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Białogard, Stargard etc.).
Similar strongholds were built during the late Bronze
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s by the people of the Lusatian culture
Lusatian culture
The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age in most of today's Poland, parts of Czech Republic and Slovakia, parts of eastern Germany and parts of Ukraine...
(ca. 1300 BC – 500 BC), and later in the 7th - 8th centuries CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
in modern-day Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. These settlements were usually founded on strategic sites such as hills, riverbanks, lake islands or peninsulas.
A typical gord was a group of wooden houses, built either in rows or in circles, surrounded by one or more rings of walls made of earth and wood, a palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
and/or moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s. Some gords were ring-shaped, with a round, oval or occasionally polygonal fence or wall surrounding a hollow. Others, built on a natural hill or a man-made mound, were cone-shaped. Those with a natural defense on one side, such as a river or lake, were usually horseshoe-shaped.
Most gords were built in densely-populated areas, and situated in places which presented particular natural advantages. However, as Slavic tribes united into states, gords were also built for defense purposes in less populated border areas.
Those gords which served as a ruler's residence or lay on trade routes, quickly expanded. A suburbium formed near or below the gord. Its population served the residents of the gord and could shelter within the gord's walls in the event of danger. Eventually the suburbium would have its own fence or wall. In the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, the gord would normally evolve into a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
or citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
(kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
); the suburbium – into a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
as gorodische, in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
as grodzisko, in Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
as horodyshche, in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
as hradisko and in Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
as hradiště). Notable archeological sites include Biskupin
Biskupin
The archaeological open air museum Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of an Iron Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland . When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of Slavic settlement but archaeologists later confirmed it belonged to the Biskupin...
, Poland and Bilsk, Ukraine (see Gelonus
Gelonus
Gelonus, was according to Herodotus, the capital of the Scythian tribe Budini.- Search for Gelonus :In his account of Scythia , Herodotus writes that the Gelonii were formerly Greeks, having settled away from the coastal emporia among the Budini, where they "use a tongue partly Scythian and partly...
).
Evolution of the word
The Proto-Slavic word *gordъ means a "fenced area", compare to Ukrainian horodyty, Czech ohradit, Russian ogradit, Croatian/Serbian ograditi and Polish ogradzać meaning "fence away". It ultimately finds its root in the Proto-Indo-European languageProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
; cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s are many English words related to enclosure: "yard", "girdle," and "court." In some modern Slavic languages, *gordъ has evolved into words for a "garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
" (likewise a fenced area, from which Latin hortus, and English horticulture and orchard): the Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
ґород (gorod) and город (horod), the Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
градина (gradina), the Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
ogród, the Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
záhrada, the Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
zahrada, the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
огород (ogorod). In some Slavic languages, *gord has evolved into a word for "town" or "city": the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
gorod, the ancient Pomeranian
Pomeranian language
The Pomeranian language is a group of dialects from the Lechitic cluster of the West Slavic languages. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the Slavic Pomeranians...
and modern Kaszubian
Kashubian language
Kashubian or Cassubian is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages....
gard, the Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
and Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
град, grad. The Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
and Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
hrad and Slovene grad have evolved to mean "fortified castle." The Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
gród and Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
horod retain their original meaning of an "ancient fortified settlement."
Podgrodzie, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podgrodzie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dębica, within Dębica County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Dębica and west of the regional capital Rzeszów....
) and town's districts (i.e. district of Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
).
The names of many Central and Eastern European cities hark back to their past as gords. Some of them are in countries which used to be, but no longer are, inhabited mostly by Slavic-speaking peoples. Examples include: Novgorod, Gorodets
Gorodets
Gorodets is a town and the administrative center of Gorodetsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River, northwest of Nizhny Novgorod...
, Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
(Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
); Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
, Davyd-Haradok
Davyd-Haradok
Davyd-Haradok is a city in the southwestern Belarusian voblast of Brest. It has 7,681 inhabitants .-External links:* *...
, Haradok
Haradok
Haradok is a town in Vitebsk Province in Belarus with the population of 34,700 people. Approximately 14,000 people reside in the town itself around 30,000 people reside within the district. Haradok district is one of the largest in the country. The town is located on the north-east of Belarus and...
, Navahrudak (Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
); Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod or Uzhgorod is a city located in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. It is the administrative center of the Zakarpattia Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Uzhhorodskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Horodok
Horodok
Horodok may refer to:*Horodok, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine*Horodok, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine*Horodok -See also:*Gorodok, name of several rural localities in Russia*Haradok, a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus...
, Horodysche
Horodysche
Horodysche is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Vilshanka River and is the administrative center of the Horodyschenskyi Raion .Current estimated population: 15,491 ....
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
); Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
, Vyšehrad
Vyšehrad
Vyšehrad is a castle located in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. It was probably built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River...
(Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
); Stargard Szczeciński
Stargard Szczecinski
Stargard Szczeciński is a city in northwestern Poland, with a population of 71,017 . Situated on the Ina River it is the capital of Stargard County and since 1999 has been in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship; prior to that it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship...
, Starogard Gdański
Starogard Gdanski
Starogard Gdański is a town in Eastern Pomerania in northwestern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants...
, Nowogard
Nowogard
Nowogard of northwestern Poland, with some 16,733 inhabitants -Location:Situated in the Goleniow County of West Pomeranian Voivodship , previously in Szczecin Voivodship ....
, Ogrodzieniec
Ogrodzieniec
Ogrodzieniec is town Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,499 inhabitants .It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle, damaged during the Swedish invasion of Poland in the years 1655–1660.- External links :...
, Grodzisk Mazowiecki
Grodzisk Mazowiecki
Grodzisk Mazowiecki is a town in central Poland with 26,881 inhabitants in 2006. It is 30 km. southwest of Warsaw.Between 1975 and 1998 it was situated in the Warszawa Voivodeship but since 1999 it has been situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Grodzisk Mazowiecki...
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
); Dravograd
Dravograd
Dravograd is a small town and a municipality in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It is part of the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia)....
, Gornji Grad
Gornji Grad
Gornji Grad is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It lies on the Dreta River at the foothills of the Savinja Alps. Traditionally it belonged to the region of Styria and is now included in the Savinja statistical region....
(Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
); Biograd, Stari Grad
Stari Grad, Croatia
Stari Grad is a town on the northern side of the island of Hvar in Dalmatia, Croatia. One of the oldest towns in Europe, its position at the end of a long, protected bay and next to prime agricultural land, has long made it attractive for human settlement...
(Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
); Visegrád
Visegrád
Visegrád is a small castle town in Pest County, Hungary.Situated north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend, Visegrád has a population 1,654 as of 2001...
(Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
); Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
(Beograd), Dimitrovgrad
Dimitrovgrad, Serbia
Dimitrovgrad is a town and 483 km² large municipality located in the Pirot District of the Republic of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the municipality of Dimitrovgrad has a population of 10,056 people and the town 6,247.-Name:...
, Veliko Gradište
Veliko Gradište
Veliko Gradište is a town and municipality located in Serbia, in north-east Serbia , on the right bank of the Danube river and left bank of the Pek river...
(Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
); Danilovgrad
Danilovgrad
Danilovgrad is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 5,208 . It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two largest cities, Podgorica and Nikšić.The town of Danilovgrad is located in the fertile valley of the Zeta River,...
(Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
); Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 74,302 . It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River....
, Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad is a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province.-History:Asenovgrad was founded by the Thracians as Stenímachos around 300–400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea. After a long period...
, Razgrad
Razgrad
Razgrad is a city in northeastern Bulgaria, administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Razgrad Province. As of February 2011, it has a population of 33,238 inhabitants.-History:...
(Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
); Gradsko
Gradsko, Republic of Macedonia
Gradsko is a village located in central Republic of Macedonia. It is located at around and is very close to the main motorway which links Gevgelija on Macedonia's border with Greece, to Slovenia's crossing with Austria. It was constructed in Yugoslavia...
(Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
); Novohrad region, many places named Hradisko
Hradisko
Hradisko is a village and municipality in Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of north Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 840 metres and covers an area of 2.635 km².It has a population of about 100 people.-External links:...
(Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
) or Hradište
Hradište
Hradište or Hradiště may refer to:Places in Slovakia:* Hradište pod Vrátnom* Hradište, Banská Bystrica* Hradište, Poltár District* Hradište, TrenčínPlaces in the Czech Republic:* Choustníkovo Hradiště* Dolní Hradiště* Hradiště...
(Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
); Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
(Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
); Gartz
Gartz
Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, about 30 km south of Szczecin .-Overview:...
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
); Pogradec
Pogradec
Pogradec is a city in southeastern Albania, situated on the shores of Ohrid lake. It is the capital of the District of Pogradec, in the County of Korçë, located at 40.87°N and 20.70°E with a population of around 30,000 . The total area of the district is 725 km². Pogradec alone occupies about...
(Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
), Višegrad
Višegrad
Višegrad is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Republika Srpska entity. It is on the river Drina, located on the road from Goražde and Ustiprača towards Užice, Serbia.-History:...
(Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
).
In old Iran (Persia) Gerd had the same meaning. This word changed to Jerd after Arab invasion. Burugerd or Borujerd
Borujerd
Borujerd is a city in and capital of Borujerd County, Lorestan Province in western Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 227,547, in 59,388 families....
is a city in West of Iran.
See also
- GordoservonGordoservonIn records from Bithynia in the year 680, the city of Gordoservon or Gordoserbon was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs. The name is derived from the Serbs that resettled in Asia Minor by Byzantine Emperor Constans II , who came from the areas "around the river Vardar"...
in Asia Minor, 680 AD - GarðaríkiGarðaríkiGarðaríki or Garðaveldi is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Kievan Rus'...
- Varangian name for Kievan Rus, interpreted as "cities" - BiskupinBiskupinThe archaeological open air museum Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of an Iron Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland . When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of Slavic settlement but archaeologists later confirmed it belonged to the Biskupin...
, a life-size reconstruction of a gord-like LusatianLusatian cultureThe Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age in most of today's Poland, parts of Czech Republic and Slovakia, parts of eastern Germany and parts of Ukraine...
settlement in Poland. - Fortified settlements in other cultures:
- KraalKraalKraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
(South Africa); - Motte-and-baileyMotte-and-baileyA motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
(western Europe). - Burgh, Borough, BurgBurghA burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
or bjerg (Scotland, England, Germany, Denmark) - IsengardIsengardIn J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
Fictional town of an antagonist group in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the rings. Name derived from Isen=Iron.
- Kraal
External links
- Reconstruction of a gród at Grzybowo, Poland – images of a typical ancient Slavic settlement with suburbium, earth-and-wood wall and moat; by Tomek Birezowski (Polish text).