Serbia · Restored
Maglič
Maglič is a medieval Serbian fortress from the 13th century, sited atop a hill at a sharp bend of the Ibar river. The stone stronghold comprises seven defensive towers plus a dungeon tower connected by curtain walls and enclosed a courtyard containing a palace, barracks, a church of Saint George, and water installations. It guarded the route between the Great Morava valley and Kosovo polje and is listed as a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance.
First raised
1300
Its prime
1330
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1330
What Maglič looked like in its prime.
Maglič stands on a steep hill at a pronounced bend of the Ibar river, about 100 metres above the water. The fortress is formed by eight vertical stone towers (seven defensive towers and one dungeon tower) joined by continuous curtain walls with parapets; a single main gate faces north and a small sally-port pierces a southeastern tower. Inside are an enclosed courtyard with palace and barracks remains, a church, a large reservoir and a well. Wooden internal floors and wooden fences line the inner sides of towers and wall-walks.
Its story
The story of Maglič.
Built Above the Ibar Bend, First Half of the 13th Century
Maglič takes its name from the Serbian magla, fog: 'the foggy one'. It sits on a hill about 100 metres above a curve of the Ibar, some 20 kilometres south of Kraljevo, commanding the only road that connected the Great Morava Valley with Kosovo polje. It was raised in the first half of the thirteenth century by either Stefan the First-Crowned or his son Uroš I, to safeguard the monasteries of Sopoćani and Studenica and to prevent any future Mongol raid deeper into the Serbian lands.
Seven Towers and a Dungeon Tower
Seven towers and a dungeon tower stand linked by walls, built in the manner typical of medieval fortresses in the Balkan peninsula, with three solid sides and wooden fencing on the inner face. The single gate faces north and a small sally port pierces one of the towers in the south-east; three towers stand next to each other along the southern front to give better protection from attack. Within the walls are the remains of a palace, barracks and a church of Saint George, together with a large reservoir for water and a well.
Danilo II, the Ottomans and the Second Serbian Uprising
Under the Serbian empire Maglič was the seat of Archbishop Danilo II, who wrote his hagiographies and regiographies while residing there. After the Ottomans captured Smederevo on 20 June 1459 they occupied Maglič and held it until Serbs recaptured it 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 the voivode Radoslav Jelečanin ambushed a group of Turkish soldiers at Maglič and halted their advance from Novi Pazar.
Restoration and Protection, 1979-2010
The fortress was partly restored after the First World War, the main restoration following in late 1980, when the wooden floors of its towers and the fencing along the walls were rebuilt; some of that timber is now rotten and a potential danger. Maglič was placed on the list of Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance in 1979. Every July the ground below the walls serves as the starting point of the Merry Ride, a day-long descent of the Ibar to Kraljevo in which more than 3,000 vessels of every river-worthy kind usually take part. A further restoration, funded by local donations with financial backing from Italy, was announced in 2010.
Step inside
11 places to explore in 1330.
The record describes 11 distinct spots at Maglič, including 6 interiors: dungeon tower (interior), palace (great hall area), church of saint george (interior) and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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