A legend of Fairy town began more than 2.300 years ago, when Celtic tribes from the North of Europe settled the territory of the Balkans. At the beginning of the 3rd century BCE one of the tribes arrived to the south, to the Nišava River. Captured by the beauty of the river, the green basin and the mountains, they decided to build a town on one of the banks.
The legend says that the town was so beautiful and important that is was a frequent target of attacks of surrounding tribes, who used to plunder, burn and often raze it to the ground. When the Celts came to realize that they would not last for long, they praised gods and asked for protection. The gods sent them fairies and told them: “We cannot stop human anger and destruction, but we shell rebuild your town with heavenly force and each morning it will shine in its glory.”
Then, divine fairies made the river their dwelling and the city got their protectors. Whenever enemies would destroy it, the fairies would come out of the river under the cover of night and used their magic to restore its strong walls, high towers, streets and squares. As a token of their appreciation, the Celts named the river “Fairy River” (Naisa), and their town “Fairy Town” (Navissos).
The town and the river haven’t changed their names since then – the Romans called it Naissus, it was Nusos for the Byzantines, and the Slavs named it Niš, so this legend of fairies still lives in its name today.
