Nine hundred and fifty-two skulls were built into walls about half a meter thick and about four and a half meters high. Fourteen heads were embedded in the freshly applied mortar on the outside, in regular rows.

In each row, on each wall, there were 17 heads of Serbian warriors from Cegra. It is Ćele-kula – translated into Turkish, it means a tower of human skulls. It is located near the center of the city of Niš, once ancient Nais, where the Roman emperors Constantine the Great and Constantius III were born.

The walled skulls represent the desire of the Turkish commander Hurshid Pasha to immortalize his victory at Cegra and to send his “triumph” to the sultan. According to the National Museum in Nis, he promised a special reward for that act – he gave 25 groschi for each Serbian head. The Turks from Niš and the surrounding area skinned their heads and filled their skins with cotton, and those terrible symbols of the victory in the battle were sent to Istanbul, to show how the rebellious paradise should be dealt with.

However, as they further state, that was not the end and the climax.

“Determined to frighten the Christian paradise for all time and show them his ferocity, Hurshid Pasha chose an elevation next to the Constantinople Road, east of the then city, not far from the Stambol Gate, as the site for the construction of the tower. Many travelers pᴀssed that way, spreading far and wide the story of the terrible tower and unprecedented Turkish cruelty. For Paradise, the tower represented a warning and a threat, and for the Turks, it symbolized triumph. Many travel writers, pᴀssing by the Ćele-kula, left notes horrified by the barbarity of the Turks”, it is written in the book “Ćele-kula”, of the National Museum in Nis.

A sH๏τ in the powder for eternal heroism

The Battle of Čegra, for which it is stated that the total losses of the Serbian fighters were about 4.000 people, is one of the decisive battles fought in the First Serbian Uprising between the Serbian insurgents and the Turks. It took place on May 31, 1809, on the hill Čegar (horseshoe, foot) near the village of Kamenica near Niš.

The records of the National Museum state that the people of Resava “bravely and courageously” resisted the well-organized and violent Turkish attack. The corpses of the Turks and their horses filled the moat, and then they managed to break into the ditch. Then came difficult times for Sinđelić and his fighters.

“All this was watched in silence and horror by the insurgents from other trenches. Miloje Petrović did not allow Sinđelić to be helped,” the book says.

Faced with a hopeless situation, Sinđelić fires a sH๏τ from the holster into the powder magazine. A terrible explosion destroys the trench, filled with mixed Serbs and Turks. That’s how Sinđelić led himself, his fighters, and many Turks to their deaths. The Serbian military leader, according to the writing, did not want to fall into the hands of the enemy, but he also saw that this act would help the number of Turks killed to be significantly higher.

Seeing what happened to Sinđelić and his Resavci, the insurgents left their positions and started retreating towards Deligrad. Taking advantage of the confusion, the Turks continued their pursuit and severely defeated the insurgent army, inflicting heavy losses on it.

Serbian writer, publicist and academic Milan Đ. Milicevic gave his vivid description of the battle on Cegro:

“Sinđelić that day was a dragon and not a man: he didn’t get there in a single moment! He saw everything, he ran everywhere, helped everyone, so when he saw that the Turks had filled the trenches around the trenches with ᴅᴇᴀᴅ corpses and the living ones jumped into the trenches and fought with the Serbs, he then opened the gate to the trench and told his : Save yourselves, brothers, who wants and who can!”

A little historical information about the brave military leader

The act of building skulls into a single tower, terrifying in itself, hides in its background the story of the brave Serbian military leader in the First Serbian Uprising, Stevan Sinđelić. Although not much is known about him, the history teacher at the Elementary School “Dositej Obradović” from Niš, Silvana Cupic says that he distinguished himself in the battles with the Turks at Jasenjar, Ivankovac, near Deligrad, and that after the battles at Ivankovac in 1805 he gained a heroic reputation.

“For the bravery shown in the colors of the leader Karadjordje then, with a solemn act, in front of the army and the leaders, he proclaimed him Serbian, or more precisely, the duke of Resava. With his men from Resav, he spent most of his time defending the pᴀss near Deligrad, from 1806 to 1809. There, Stevan confirmed his military skills. “He crowned his sacrifice in earlier battles in 1809 at Čegro, with unheard of heroism,” she told “Vijesti”.

He was born in the village of Vojsci in 1770 in the Moravian Region. His father, a distinguished craftsman Radovan Rakić, died very young, so Stevan’s mother Sinđelia remarried Stevan finished church school in the Miljkov monastery and became the prince’s best boy.

“He met leader Karađorđe through the prince Petra where Karađorđe often came to make arrangements. Stevan spent most of his life in Grabovac, where he also built a house. The villagers there nicknamed him Sinđelić, after the name of Sinđelija’s mother,” says Ćupić.

Eternal symbol of the desire for freedom

The basic idea of ​​the Turks was that the Ćele-kula represented an eternal symbol of fear and constantly reminded the people what would happen to them if they rebelled again, and all hope had to be crushed.

“Over time, the tower became a legend, it called for resistance, revenge, strengthened the desire for freedom. An eternal reminder that there is no coexistence with the executioner and that the day will come when slavery will end. The people sang a song about the heroes of Kjera and their sad fate. Secretly, at night, Raja took out skulls and buried them with dignity”, it is written in the book “Cele-kula”.

Over the years, the ravages of time have taken their toll. Many heads were taken out and buried, some were taken away to be unique souvenirs, and some were destroyed by rains, frosts and winds.

There are historical records that at one time, more liberal Turkish officials considered demolishing the tower, but, due to the possible reaction of the Muslim population, gave it up.

The mute witness of the decades-long struggle for freedom welcomed the liberators in 1878. Serbian fighters led by the prince paid tribute to the fallen heroes Milan Obrenović. In the same year, the citizens of Niš collected funds and built a canopy and fenced the tower, thereby preventing its further deterioration.

Today, there are 59 skulls of brave heroes from Resava, who laid down their lives for freedom, on the Ćele-kula. Among them, according to legend, is the head of Stevan Sinđelić.

History professor Silvana Ćupić believes that the Ćele tower is a monument to the suffering and heroism of the oppressed people.

“It bears witness to the time when the Serbian people closed their ranks in order to liberate themselves from the centuries-old tyranny of the Ottomans. It talks about difficult and terrible times, how much we should value freedom because once it is lost, it is difficult to regain it. Although the first Serbian uprising was unsuccessful in military terms, it gave hope to the people that freedom was near. The Ottomans realized that they could only try to suppress the insurgents with a brutal act,” she said.

The act of self-sacrifice, Ćupić adds, has been recorded and preserved to this day and represents a “wonderful example of the heroism of the Serbian insurgents”.

“He remembers and warns that freedom is the greatest treasure. Čele-kula talks about the heroes whose skulls were built into it, it talks about how they became the foundation of freedom and constantly reminds Nišlije that freedom is the most sacred thing. Stevan Siđelić and his comrades certainly deserve it”, says Ćupić.