Blagaj Fortress

Blagaj Fortress (Stjepan Grad) is a fortified complex perched 310m above sea level on a karst hill near the source of the River Buna in Herzegovina. Archaeological material including Illyrian pottery and Roman roof tiles attests to prehistoric and late antique occupation. The fortress became a ducal seat under Sandalj Hranic in 1404 and was later named after Herceg Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca. The Ottomans captured it in 1465. Excavations in 1965 uncovered ceramics, iron objects, glass, carbonized cereals, and roughly 700 kg of lead in palace ruins. Declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.