Radan (mountain)

Radan
Devil's Town
Highest point
Elevation1,408 m (4,619 ft)[1]
Coordinates43°00′12″N 21°29′48″E / 43.00333°N 21.49667°E / 43.00333; 21.49667
Geography
Radan is located in Serbia
Radan
Radan
Serbia
LocationSouthern Serbia

Radan (Serbian Cyrillic: Радан) is a mountain in southern Serbia, 33 km from the town of Kuršumlija. Its highest peak, Šopot, has an elevation of 1,408 meters above sea level.

Radan separates the valleys of the Toplica and Jablanica rivers. It is well covered with deciduous and evergreen forests.[2]

Radan's best known scenic spot is the Devil's Town – a peculiar rock formation consisting of hundreds of mushroom-like posts, located on its southern slopes.[3] Near the Devil's Town there are ruins of Ivanova kula – a fortification built on top of a volcanic coupe. Folk tradition connects the small tower keep located there to Ivan Kosančić, the medieval military commander.[4] Justiniana Prima (Caričin grad), a Byzantine city from the 6th century, is located on the southeast of the mountain, near Lebane.[2]

In summer 2010, Radan attracted media attention because of a "magnetic hill" located on a road near the village of Ivanje. After initial sensationalist articles about "anti-gravity", it soon turned out that it is just an optical illusion. Still, the hill is seen as an opportunity for a tourist attraction.[5]

  1. ^ Jovan Đokić. "Katalog planina Srbije". PSD Kopaonik Beograd. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18.
  2. ^ a b Radan (in Serbian), PD Pobeda, retrieved 2010-08-19
  3. ^ About Devil's Town, Official Devil's Town website, retrieved 2010-08-19
  4. ^ "Turistička organizacija Kuršumlija - Ivan kula". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  5. ^ Tamo gde je nebo palo dole (in Serbian), Vreme, 2010-08-12, retrieved 2010-08-19