imported>Ihavetoentermyusername at 02:38, 13 August 2025

2025-08-13T02:38:03Z

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{{short description|Heritage site in Niš, Serbia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Skull Tower
| native_language = Serbian
| image = Skull Tower detail.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Detail of a tower wall
| designation1 =
| designation1_date =
| designation1_number =
| designation1_criteria =
| designation1_type =
| designation1_free1name =
| designation1_free1value =
| designation1_free2name =
| designation1_free2value =
| location = [[Niš]], [[Serbia]]
| elevation =
| built = 1809
| architect =
| architecture =
| coordinates = {{coord|43.3122|21.9238|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Serbia
| map_caption = Location of Skull Tower in Serbia
| visitation_num = 30,000–50,000
| visitation_year = 2009
| embedded =
{{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Serbia
| designation1_type= [[Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance|Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance]]
| designation1_offname =
| designation1_date = 6 May 1948
| designation1_number = SK 218<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nasledje.gov.rs/index.cfm/spomenici/pregled_spomenika?spomenik_id=45752|title=Информациони систем непокретних културних добара}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''Skull Tower''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Ћеле кула|Ćele kula}}, {{IPA|sr|tɕel̩e kula|pron}}; {{Langx|tr|Kelle kulesi|4=skull tower}}) is a stone structure embedded with human [[skull]]s located in [[Niš]], [[Serbia]]. It was constructed by the [[Ottoman Empire]] following the [[Battle of Čegar]] of May 1809, during the [[First Serbian Uprising]]. During the battle, Serbian rebels under the command of [[Stevan Sinđelić]] were surrounded by the Ottomans on [[Čegar]] Hill, near Niš. Knowing that he and his fighters would be [[impalement|impaled]] if captured, Sinđelić detonated a powder magazine within the rebel entrenchment, killing himself, his subordinates and the encroaching Ottoman soldiers. The governor of the [[Rumelia Eyalet]], [[Hurshid Pasha]], ordered that a tower be made from the skulls of the fallen rebels. The tower is {{convert|4.5|m}} high, and originally contained 952 skulls embedded on four sides in 14 rows.

In 1861, [[Midhat Pasha]], the last Ottoman governor of Niš, ordered that Skull Tower be dismantled. Following the Ottomans' withdrawal from Niš in 1878, the structure was partially restored, roofed over with a [[baldachin]] and some of the skulls that had been removed from it were returned. Construction of a chapel surrounding the structure commenced in 1892 and was completed in 1894. The chapel was renovated in 1937. A bust of Sinđelić was added the following year. In 1948, Skull Tower and the chapel enclosing it were declared [[Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance]] and came under the protection of the [[Socialist Republic of Serbia]]. Further renovation of the chapel occurred again in 1989.

As of {{year}}, 58 skulls remain embedded in Skull Tower's walls. The one that is said to belong to Sinđelić is enclosed in a glass container adjacent to the structure. Seen as a symbol of independence by many Serbs, it has become a popular tourist attraction, visited by between 30,000 and 50,000 people annually.

==History==
===Construction===
[[File:Skull Tower 1863.jpg|thumb|left|Skull Tower as depicted in an 1863 sketch by [[Felix Philipp Kanitz]]]]
The [[First Serbian Uprising]] against [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule erupted in February 1804, with [[Karađorđe]] as its leader.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=51}} On 19 May 1809, 3,000 Serbian rebels under the command of [[Stevan Sinđelić]] were attacked by the Ottomans at [[Čegar|Čegar Hill]],{{sfn|Damnjanović|Merenik|2004|pp=65–66}} near the village of [[Kamenica, Niš|Kamenica]], in [[Niš]].{{sfn|Castellan|1992|p=241}} The rebels were plagued by lack of coordination, largely due to the rivalry between commanders Miloje Petrović and [[Petar Dobrnjac]]. As a result, Sinđelić's fighters failed to receive support from the other rebel detachments.{{sfn|Damnjanović|Merenik|2004|pp=65–66}} The numerically superior Ottomans lost thousands of soldiers in a number of failed attacks against the rebels, but eventually overwhelmed the Serbian lines. Knowing that he and his men would be [[impalement|impaled]] if captured, Sinđelić fired at his entrenchment's [[gun powder]] magazine, setting off a massive explosion. The resulting blast killed him and everyone else in the vicinity.{{sfn|Vucinich|1982|p=141}}{{sfn|Hall|1995|p=297}}{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=279}}{{sfn|Merrill|2001|p=178}}
[[File:Skull Tower.jpg|thumb|right|Skull Tower in 1878]]
After the battle, the governor of the [[Rumelia Eyalet]], [[Hurshid Pasha]], ordered that the heads of Sinđelić and his men be skinned, stuffed and sent to the Ottoman [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|sultan]], [[Mahmud II]]. Upon being viewed by the sultan, the skulls were then returned to Niš, where the Ottomans built Skull Tower as a warning to residents contemplating rebellion.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=279}} The Ottoman Empire was known to create tower structures from the skulls of rebel fighters in order to elicit terror among its opponents.{{sfn|Quigley|2001|p=172}} Skull Tower was constructed on the road from [[Istanbul]] to [[Belgrade]].{{sfn|Sümer|2021|p=141}} It was built of sand and limestone.{{sfn|Jezernik|2004|p=144}} The structure is {{convert|4.5|m}} high.{{sfn|Hürriyet Daily News 27 February 2014}} It originally consisted of 952 skulls embedded on four sides in 14 rows.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=279}} The locals named it ''ćele kula'', from the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''kelle kulesi'', which means "skull tower".{{sfn|Vucinich|1982|p=141}}

The French [[Romanticism|Romantic]] poet [[Alphonse de Lamartine]] visited the tower while passing through Niš in 1833. By that time, the skulls had already been bleached from exposure to the elements.{{sfn|Jezernik|2004|p=144}} "My eyes and my heart greeted the remains of those brave men whose cut-off heads made the cornerstone of the independence of their homeland," de Lamartine later wrote. "May the Serbs keep this monument! It will always teach their children the value of the independence of a people, showing them the real price their fathers had to pay for it."{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=279}} De Lamartine's account attracted many Western travellers to Niš.{{sfn|Jezernik|2004|p=144}} Skull Tower was also mentioned in the works of the British [[travel writer]] [[Alexander William Kinglake]], published in 1849.{{sfn|Longinović|2011|pp=38–39}}

===Dismantling and conservation===
[[File:Skull Tower 01.jpg|thumb|right|The chapel containing the tower, 1902]]
In the years following its construction, many skulls fell out from the tower walls, some were taken away for burial by relatives thinking they could identify the skulls of their deceased family members, and some were taken by souvenir hunters.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=280}} [[Midhat Pasha]], the last Ottoman governor of Niš, ordered that Skull Tower be dismantled in 1861.{{sfn|Sümer|2021|p=141}} He realized that the structure no longer served as an effective means of discouraging potential rebels and only fostered resentment against the Ottomans, reminding locals of the empire's cruelty.{{sfn|Makuljević|2012|pp=36–37}} During the dismantling, the remaining skulls were removed from the tower.{{sfn|Sümer|2021|p=141}}

After the Ottomans withdrew from Niš in 1878, the [[Royal Serbian Army]] scoured the town and its surroundings in search of the missing skulls. One was found embedded deep inside the tower walls and sent to the [[National Museum of Serbia|National Museum]] in Belgrade. This was followed by the construction of a roof [[baldachin]], which was topped off with a cross. This is how the structure is depicted in an 1883 painting by the [[Realism (arts)|realist]] [[Đorđe Krstić]]. In 1892, work commenced on the construction of a chapel that was to enclose the tower. The foundations of the chapel, designed by the architect [[Dimitrije T. Leko]], were consecrated in 1894.{{sfn|Makuljević|2012|pp=36–37}} A plaque dedicated near the chapel in 1904 reads: "To the first Serbian liberators after [[Battle of Kosovo|Kosovo]]."{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=280}}

The chapel was renovated in 1937 and a bust of Sinđelić was added the following year. In 1948, Skull Tower and the chapel were declared [[Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance]] and came under the protection of the [[Socialist Republic of Serbia]]. Further renovation of the chapel occurred again in 1989.{{sfn|Babović 14 July 2009}} As of {{year}}, 58 skulls remain embedded in the tower walls.{{sfn|Pavićević|2021|p=148}} The one said to belong to Sinđelić rests in a glass container adjacent to the structure.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=280}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Ćele-kula, Niš, Srbija, 17.JPG|thumb|right|The chapel enclosing Skull Tower, 2014]]
Skull Tower remains one of the most prominent symbols of Ottoman rule in Serbia.{{sfn|Garcevic 19 December 2016}} It "continues to serve as an important heritage site for Serbian national identity," the political scientist Bilgesu Sümer writes.{{sfn|Sümer|2021|p=141}} In Serbia, and among Serbs both inside and outside the country, it is considered a symbol of the country's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Levy|2015|p=222}} In the centuries following its construction, it has become a place of Serb pilgrimage.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=280}} Prior to the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], tens of thousands of schoolchildren from across [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] visited the structure.{{sfn|Judah|2000|p=280}} Skull Tower remains one of the most visited destinations in Serbia, attracting between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors annually.{{sfn|Babović 14 July 2009}}

The Serbian poet {{ill|Milan Đorđević (književnik)|lt=Milan Đorđević|sr}} considers Skull Tower to be emblematic of what he terms "Balkan horror".{{sfn|Merrill|2001|p=179}} Drawing on themes from Serbian history, in 1957, composer [[Dušan Radić]] composed the [[cantata]] ''Ćele kula''.{{sfn|Milin|2009|pp=86–87}} Skull Tower is also the subject of the eponymous fourth cycle of [[Modernist poetry|modernist]] [[Vasko Popa]]'s fourth collection of poems, ''Uspravna zemlja'' (Earth Erect), which was completed in 1971.{{sfn|Lekić|1993|p=38}} The structure was featured on the cover of the Serbian [[rock music|rock]] band ''[[Riblja Čorba]]'''s 1985 album ''[[Istina]]'', with the band members' faces embedded in the tower walls. The cover was designed by the artist [[Jugoslav Vlahović]].{{sfn|Kostić 28 December 2015}}

An exhibition at the [[Military Museum (Belgrade)|Military Museum in Belgrade]] contains a replica of the tower.{{sfn|Merrill|2001|p=178}} In 2024, a group of anthropologists from Serbia began the forensic reconstruction of the faces of the remaining skulls; a DNA analysis of the skulls was not carried out as this would damage both the skulls and the tower. The project was funded with private donations from Serbia and several surrounding countries.{{sfn|Euronews Srbija 5 June 2024}}

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" mode="packed-hover" classes="center" caption="Skull Tower">
File:Ćele Kula - South Side View.jpg|South side
File:Ćele Kula - North Side View.jpg|North side
File:Ćele Kula - East Side View.jpg|East side
File:Skull Tower detail 2.jpg|Detail of a row of skulls
File:Ćele-kula_-_Stevan_Sinđelić_skull.JPG|Skull that is said to have belonged to Stevan Sinđelić
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
;Books
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
| last = Castellan
| first = Georges
| year = 1992
| title = History of the Balkans: From Mohammed the Conqueror to Stalin
| publisher = East European Monographs
| location = Boulder, Colorado
| isbn = 978-0-88033-222-4
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Damnjanović
| first1 = Nebojša
| last2 = Merenik
| first2 = Vladimir
| year = 2004
| title = The First Serbian Uprising and the Restoration of the Serbian State
| publisher = Historical Museum of Serbia
| location = Belgrade, Serbia
| isbn = 978-86-7025-371-1
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hall
| first = Brian
| year = 1995
| title = Impossible Country: A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia
| publisher = Penguin
| location = New York City
| isbn = 978-0-14-024923-1
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Jezernik
| first = Božidar
| year = 2004
| title = Wild Europe: The Balkans in the Gaze of Western Travellers
| publisher = Saqi
| location = London, England
| isbn = 978-0-86356-574-8
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Judah
| first = Tim
| authorlink = Tim Judah
| year = 2000
| title = The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia
| publisher = Yale University Press
| location = New Haven, Connecticut
| isbn = 978-0-300-08507-5
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=B4YbP0fPcMYC
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Lekić
| first = Anita
| year = 1993
| title = The Quest for Roots: The Poetry of Vasko Popa
| publisher = Peter Lang
| location = Bern, Switzerland
| isbn = 978-0-820417-77-6
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Levy
| first = Michele Frucht
| editor-last = Mitroiu
| editor-first = Simona
| year = 2015
| title = Life Writing and Politics of Memory in Eastern Europe
| chapter = From Skull Tower to Mall: Competing Victim Narratives and the Politics of Memory in the Former Yugoslavia
| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
| location = New York City
| isbn = 978-1-137-48552-6
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=97OhCgAAQBAJ
| pages = 202–221
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Longinović
| first = Tomislav
| year = 2011
| title = Vampire Nation: Violence as Cultural Imaginary
| publisher = Duke University Press
| location = Durham, North Carolina
| isbn = 978-0-8223-5039-2
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RDq8b_8Q_gEC
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Makuljević
| first = Nenad
| editor-last = Zimmermann
| editor-first = Tanja
| year = 2012
| title = Balkan Memories: Media Constructions of National and Transnational History
| chapter = Public Monuments, Memorial Churches and the Creation of Serbian National Identity in the 19th Century
| publisher = transcript Verlag
| location = Bielefeld, Germany
| isbn = 978-3-8394-1712-6
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=va-TBQAAQBAJ
| pages = 33–40
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Merrill
| first = Christopher
| authorlink = Christopher Merrill
| year = 2001
| title = Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars
| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield
| location = Lanham, Maryland
| isbn = 978-0-74251-686-1
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iQ3qG1s0LSgC
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Milin
| first = Melita
| editor-last = Romanou
| editor-first = Katy
| year = 2009
| title = Serbian and Greek Art Music: A Patch to Western Music History
| chapter = Serbian Music of the Second Half of the 20th Century: From Socialist Realism to Postmodernism
| publisher = Intellect Books
| location = Bristol, England
| isbn = 978-1-84150-338-7
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u4kZUcgRYGsC
| pages = 81–96
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Pavićević
| first = Aleksandra
| year = 2021
| title = Funerary Practices in Serbia
| publisher = Emerald Group Publishing
| location = Bingley, West Yorkshire
| isbn = 978-1-78769-179-7
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vqgaEAAAQBAJ
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Sümer
| first = Bilgesu
| editor1-last = Ribas-Mateos
| editor1-first = Natalia
| editor2-last = Dunn
| editor2-first = Timothy J.
| year = 2021
| title = Handbook on Human Security, Borders and Migration
| chapter = The Invisible Dimension of Institutional Violence and the Political Construction of Impunity: Necropopulism and the Averted Medicolegal Gaze
| publisher = Edward Elgar Publishing
| location = Northampton, Massachusetts
| isbn = 978-1-83910-890-7
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MhsdEAAAQBAJ
| pages = 137–147
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Quigley
| first = Christine
| year = 2001
| title = Skulls and Skeletons: Human Bone Collections and Accumulations
| publisher = McFarland
| location = Jefferson, North Carolina
| isbn = 978-0-7864-1068-2
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tTST7UFzncoC
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Vucinich
| first = Wayne S.
| authorlink = Wayne S. Vucinich
| editor-last = Vucinich
| editor-first= Wayne S.
| year = 1982
| title = First Serbian Uprising, 1804–1813
| chapter = The Serbian Insurgents and the Russo-Turkish War of 1809–1812
| publisher = Columbia University Press
| location = New York City
| isbn = 978-0-930888-15-2
| pages = 141–174
}}
{{refend}}

;Websites
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite news
| last = Babović
| first = S.
| date = 14 July 2009
| title = Ćele-kula za svetsku baštinu
| language = Serbian
| newspaper = Večernje novosti
| url = https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/kultura.71.html:292407-Cele-kula-za-svetsku-bastinu
| access-date = 24 April 2021
| ref = {{harvid|Babović 14 July 2009}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Garcevic
| first = Srdjan
| date = 19 December 2016
| title = Finding a Serbian Thread in the Silk Road
| website = Balkan Insight
| url = https://balkaninsight.com/2016/12/19/finding-a-serbian-thread-in-the-silk-road-11-04-2016/
| access-date = 20 November 2022
| ref = {{harvid|Garcevic 19 December 2016}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Kostić
| first = Petar
| date = 28 December 2015
| title = Himna slobode: 30 godina Istine i "Anđela"
| language = Serbian
| website = BalkanRock
| url = https://balkanrock.com/autorski-clanci/kolumne-i-clanci/himna-slobode-30-godina-istine-i-andela/
| access-date = 24 April 2021
| ref = {{harvid|Kostić 28 December 2015}}
}}
*{{cite web
| website = Euronews Srbija
| date = 5 June 2024
| title = "Novo lice Ćele-kule": Projekat rekonstrukcije lica junaka čije su lobanje ugrađene u zidove
| language = Serbian
| url = https://www.euronews.rs/kultura/aktuelno-iz-kulture/125795/novo-lice-cele-kule-projekat-rekonstrukcije-lica-junaka-cije-su-lobanje-ugradene-u-zidove/vest
| access-date = 12 September 2024
| ref = {{harvid|Euronews Srbija 5 June 2024}}
}}
* {{cite web
| website = Hürriyet Daily News
| date = 27 February 2014
| title = Ottoman tower tops list of buildings made with bones
| url = http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ottoman-tower-tops-list-of-buildings-made-with-bones.aspx?pageID=238&nID=63000&NewsCatID=375
| access-date = 24 April 2021
| ref = {{harvid|Hürriyet Daily News 27 February 2014}}
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ćele-kula}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090411153443/http://www.ni.rs/cegar-hill.html Battle of Čegar, official website of the municipality of Niš] {{in lang|en}}
* [https://narodnimuzejnis.rs/o-muzeju/objekti/cele-kula/?lang=RS Ćele-kula ] {{space}} National Museum Niš {{in lang|sr}}

{{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Niš]]
[[Category:Cemeteries in Serbia]]
[[Category:Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)]]
[[Category:First Serbian Uprising]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Serbia]]
[[Category:Ottoman architecture in Serbia]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1809]]
[[Category:Towers in Serbia]]
[[Category:Decapitation]]

Skull Tower - Revision history

imported>Ihavetoentermyusername at 02:38, 13 August 2025