During the 14th and 15th centuries the people of the region and merchants from
Dubrovnik used Ostrovica castle as a haven during wars, first in 1323–1324 during the war between
Stefan Dečanski and
Stephen Vladislav. In 1398 Nikola Zojić , a governor of Ostrovica, retreated to Ostrvica after the failure of his attempt to overthrow
Stefan Lazarević and to establish direct vassalage to the Ottoman Empire. Zojić took monastic vows to avoid the death penalty. In 1414 voivode Mazarek is mentioned as a governor of Ostrvica and Rudnik. Ostrvica was captured by the Ottomans several times, first in 1431 and again in 1438. The Serbian despot recaptured it in 1443 during the
Crusade of Varna, but the Ottomans captured it again in 1444, only to be restored to Serbia later in the year. Branković and Eirene used Ostrovica as their summer retreat, and had a mint in the castle. When the Ottomans captured Ostrvica in 1451 they razed it to the ground. This was against the order of
Murad II. == See also ==