Stalać Fortress is a historic fortress in the town of
Stalać (). It is located north of present-day
Kruševac
Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...
, on a hill overlooking the confluence of
West
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
and
South Morava
The South Morava (; Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is long, including its source ri ...
.
Stalać Fortress has a status of a
Cultural Monument of Great Importance in the Republic of Serbia.
History
The fort was built at the same time as Kruševac, by prince
Lazar of Serbia
Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, referre ...
.
The town was built on a wide plateau - a strategic place that controlled westward communications. For the first time Stalać is mentioned in 1377 in a charter of prince Lazar, and later in a charter of
princess Milica in 1395. Philosopher
Constantine of Kostenets
Constantine of Kostenets (; – after 1431), also known as Constantine the Philosopher ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Константин Филозоф, Konstantin Filozof, separator=" / "), was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and chronicler, who spent mo ...
, mentions that in 1413
Musa Çelebi
Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum.
Background
Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...
raided Stalać and razed it.
After these sufferings, Stalać is not mentioned anymore, neither in Turkish nor Hungarian sources on their respective military campaigns. It must be that the fortification was no more in use or worth mentioning. It could be that the level of destruction of the ramparts, towers and the size of the fortification made reconstruction difficult and hard, plus the fact that Stalać lost its strategic importance as it found itself far back in the background of Turkish goal for conquests.
During his voyage in 1433
Bertrandon de la Broquière mentioned Stalać and its ruins in his notes.
also left a note on Stalać, as he traveled through these regions in the middle of 19th century.
See also
*
Cultural Monuments in Rasina District
References
External links
Section Fortress - Stalać
Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia)
Forts in Serbia
{{Serbia-hist-stub