# Gradište

- **Country:** Serbia
- **Coordinates:** 42.424444, 21.553889
- **Condition:** Ruins
- **Year Built:** 14th century
- **Castle Type:** Fortress
- **Location Text:** Gnjilane

Pogragja Fortress, also known locally as Kalaja e Pogragjës, is a significant cultural heritage monument situated in Kosovo. Located approximately ten kilometers southeast of the city of Gjilan and just one kilometer from the village of Pogragjë, the site commands a strategic position on a hill rising fifty meters above the surrounding river valley. It overlooks the confluence of a stream flowing into the Morava e Binçes river within the Karadak Mountains. Constructed during the sixth century, the fortress is a typical example of military architecture from the Justinian era. It formed part of an extensive network of fortifications established in the region of Dardania during late antiquity to secure the territory against invading forces.

The architectural layout consists of a Lower Town enclosed by walls and a more preserved Upper Town citadel at the hill's peak. The citadel follows an irregular pentagonal shape adapted to the terrain, featuring three reinforced vertices with towers. At the highest point stands a square donjon tower, where the west wall remains intact up to ten meters, displaying an entrance and arrowslits. The structure was built using stone and brick, with protective walls reaching heights of four meters in certain sections. Archaeological explorations have uncovered coins dating back to the mid-third century, including one portraying Otacila Severa, which provides evidence of earlier activity or trade in the area before the main construction phase.

Today, Pogragja Fortress exists as a ruin, though it retains substantial historical and architectural value. While parts of the defensive walls are buried underground, significant portions of the upper fortifications remain visible above ground. The site serves as an important archaeological landmark that illustrates the defensive strategies of the Byzantine period in the Balkans. Despite its current condition as a partially collapsed structure, the fortress continues to be recognized officially as a protected cultural heritage site, offering insight into the region's turbulent history and the evolution of military engineering over fifteen centuries.

![Photo of Gradište](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Kalaja_e_Pogragj%C3%ABs.JPG)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradište_(Binačko) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)