Skull Tower

Skull tower [ tɕel̩e kula ] (Serbian Cyrillic - Ћеле - кула, German Skull Tower ) is a tower located in the Serbian city of Niš. It was built by the Ottomans from the bones and skulls of Serbian rebels, who fell at the Battle of First Serbian Uprising in Čegar May 31, 1809. The tower in its original form was the French writer Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869) described in his book Voyage en Orient, in which he addresses the atrocities committed by the Turks in the Serbian population.

Building

Skull tower has a rectangular shape and is now only three feet tall. Was built the tower on the orders of Ahmed Pasha Hurşid of calcium oxide, sand and the skull of the insurgents, whose bodies were sent previously filled with cotton to Constantinople Opel. Each side of the tower had 14 rows and 17 openings where the skull bones were immured. Upon completion, there were 952 Skull of a total of about 3,000 fallen. Today there are only 58, because over time most have been stolen or taken out to be " buried ".

To the tower, a chapel was built in 1892 according to plans of the Belgrade architect Dimitrie T. Leko. The chapel, which was built around the tower, the protection and stability of this building serves.

As a military hospital has built its complex around the tower, the tower during the Second World War, was damaged in nearby bomb strikes. The roof of the chapel, which is made of glass, was also damaged.