Mezek Fortress

Mezek Fortress, also known as Neuzetikon or Neutzikon, is a Byzantine fortification built in the eleventh or twelfth century west of the village of Mezek, in Svilengrad Municipality. Situated on an elongated terrace at the foot of a steep spur of the northeastern Rhodope Mountains, it served as a frontier guard fortress protecting the territory between the Maritsa and Arda rivers.

Only part of the fortress walls survives today, as sections were demolished in 1900 to provide stone for the construction of Turkish barracks in Svilengrad. The walls are built of rubble stone bonded with white mortar and decorated on the outside with bands of brick. The entrance is in the western wall and is protected by a tower.

The curtain wall was topped with battlements, but these were destroyed in 1900. Nevertheless, some of the fortress walls and towers have survived. Niketas Choniates mentions the name "Neutzikon" in connection with 1193, when Isaac II Angelos succeeded here in suppressing the rebellion of his cousin Constantine Angelos Doukas.

The fortress forms part of the Kaleto natural landmark, a designated protected area in Bulgaria.