Jerinin Grad

Маглич, Serbia, Serbia

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Jerinin Grad is the local folkloric name for the 13th-century Maglič Fortress near Kraljevo in central Serbia, perched on a steep hilltop encircled by the curving Ibar River and shrouded in misty terrain that inspired legends of its builder, the notorious "Prokleta Jerina" (Cursed Jerina), wife of Despot Đurađ Branković. Historically constructed in the first half of the 13th century by either King Stefan the First-Crowned or his son Uroš I to protect key monasteries like Studenica and Sopoćani while blocking Mongol incursions, it later served as Archbishop Danilo II's seat for writing royal hagiographies amid its strategic role in medieval Raška. Occupied by Ottomans after 1459, briefly recaptured during uprisings, and abandoned post-Second Serbian Uprising when Voivod Radoslav Jelečanin ambushed Turkish forces there, it endures as a well-preserved cultural monument of exceptional importance celebrated for its Camelot-like silhouette and lilac-filled valley folklore.