# Stalać Fortress

- **Country:** Serbia
- **Coordinates:** 43.670600, 21.404300
- **Condition:** Ruins
- **Year Built:** 1377
- **Castle Type:** Fortress
- **Location Text:** ćićevac

Stalać Fortress is a historic medieval fortification located in the town of Stalać, approximately ten kilometers north of Kruševac in Serbia. Strategically positioned on a hill overlooking the confluence of the West and South Morava rivers, the site was constructed from stone between 1350 and 1375. It was built by Prince Lazar of Serbia during the same period as the nearby city of Kruševac to control vital westward communication routes. First mentioned in a 1377 charter issued by Prince Lazar and later in a 1395 document by Princess Milica, the fortress served as a key defensive structure for the Serbian realm during the late fourteenth century.

The historical significance of Stalać is marked by its violent destruction during the Ottoman expansion into the Balkans. In 1413, the fortress was raided and razed by Musa Çelebi, an event that effectively ended its military utility. Following this devastation, the site was never restored or rebuilt, likely due to the extensive damage to its ramparts and towers, as well as its diminished strategic value as Ottoman conquests pushed further north. By 1433, traveler Bertrandon de la Broquière recorded only ruins at the location, a state that persisted through observations made by Felix Kanitz in the mid-nineteenth century.

Today, Stalać Fortress exists primarily as archaeological remains and is classified as a Cultural Monument of Great Importance by the Republic of Serbia. Although mostly destroyed, the site is open to the public, offering visitors a glimpse into the region's turbulent medieval past. The ruins stand as a testament to the era of Prince Lazar and the eventual fall of medieval Serbian fortifications against Ottoman forces, preserving the memory of a once-strategic stronghold that guarded the morava corridor.

![Photo of Stalać Fortress](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Stala%C4%87_Fortress.jpg)

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