12/18/16

Medieval fortress Maglič, Serbia



Maglič is a 13th-century fortress about 20 km south of Kraljevo, Serbia. The castle is located atop a hill around which the Ibar river makes a curve, about 100 m above the river. The fortress protected the only road that connected the Great Morava Valley and Kosovo polje. Its name means The Foggy One from the Serbian word "Magla" (Магла), meaning fog.




Maglič was probably built in the first half of the 13th century by Stephen the First Crowned or his son Urosh I. During the Serbian empire it was the seat of Archbishop Danilo II, who wrote his famous hagiographies and regiographies in Maglič.


After capturing Smederevo on June 20, 1459, the Ottoman Empire occupied Maglič and held it until its recapture by Serbs during the Great Turkish War. After the defeat of the Serbian uprising the Ottoman Turks retook the fortress, abandoning it soon after.


During the Second Serbian Uprising, Voivod Radoslav Jelečanin ambushed a group of Turkish soldiers at Maglič and halted their advance from Novi Pazar.





The fortress consist of seven towers and one dungeon tower connected with walls. The towers are typical for a medieval fortress in the Balkan peninsula with three solid sides and wooden fences on inner side. Maglič has one gate placed in the north, and one small sally port in one of the towers in the southeast part. Inside the fortress are remains of a palace, barracks, and a church of Saint George. There is also a large reservoir for water and a well. In the southern part of the fortress, three towers are placed next to each other to give better protection from attacks.


















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