Blagaj Fort

Stjepan degree (in Croatian Tvrdjava Stjepan grad) is going back to Duke Stjepan Vukčić Kosača name of a fortress above the Herzegovinian town Blagaj ( near Mostar ). From the medieval fortress ruins remain today only.

Location

The castle stands on a rocky mountain dominating the valley about 1000 meters due east from the center of the city. South of the castle is Vrelo Bune with a strong karstic spring.

History

The Illyrian tribe Daorsi ( Dauersii, Daorsei ) built between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, a fortified settlement on the top of the headwaters of the Buna. Romans walked around this in a military camp ( castrum ). In the 10th century, built on the ruins of the old Roman fortress walls castle had become the center of the Hum region. In the following years, various rulers made ​​to own the fortress city: in the 11th century occupied the princes of Zeta from the heartland of today's Montenegro the castle. Subsequently, it was dominated by the Serbian prince Stefan Nemanja. In the first Bosnian state, the castle came into the possession of the Bosnian kings and in the year 1428 in the possession of the feudal Kosača. Before the Turks conquered the region, the fort eventually came into the possession of the Duke Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. From its name, the modern name of the fortress is derived. In 1465 the Turks conquered the castle and then extended it by large towers, five jumps, a dungeon and a mosque. The entrance was protected by an iron- studded door. In 1827 the plant was severely damaged by an earthquake and eventually left in 1835.