Kurvingrad

Serbia, Serbia

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Kurvingrad, also known as Koprijan, is a ruined medieval Serbian fortress perched above the South Morava River near Doljevac, 11 km south of Niš in southern Serbia, strategically positioned on inaccessible mountainous terrain overlooking the Via Militaris route. With roots in Roman and Byzantine defenses possibly restored by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century as Kompolos or ad Herculum i Calis, it was rebuilt around 1372 by nobleman Nenad, son of kaznac Bogdan, under Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, featuring fortifications with a large moat, three gates, a church in its suburb, and clear valley views protected by Seličevica mountain. Captured by Ottoman Sultan Musa Čelebi in 1413, briefly returned to Despot Stefan Lazarević, retaken in 1451, and used until population decline from plagues, it served German forces in World War I before protection as a cultural monument of great importance, its folk name "Kurvingrad" (Whoretown) stemming from legends of a promiscuous lady linking it to a nearby monk.