Early in the morning my family and I headed to Tara mountain to spend a few days there. We took several breaks along the way, and the first break for breakfast was at a very interesting place, so I took the chance to take photos and share them with you. 😊
The first major city on our way was Valjevo, located in western Serbia. We bought breakfast and found a parking lot in the immediate vicinity of the main highway. I saw a beautiful tower in the distance and headed in its direction, to explore. I've never seen it before. It is the Nenadovic Tower from the 19th century and is considered a symbol of the Valjevo city.
This tower was built at the beginning of 1813 by Duke Jakov Nenadovic and his son. It was built before the end of the First Serbian Uprising with the purpose of storing ammunition and war material. Stones from another tower that had been demolished were used for its construction.
At the end of the same year that the tower was built, the Serbs had to leave the tower because the Turks occupied it and turned it into a dungeon - a prison.
This beautiful tower became a place of death. The most terrible tortures took place there and it lasted for two years. When after two years the Turks left and the liberators of Valjevo entered the tower, they found many tortured people inside, some alive and some not. It must have been a gruesome sight.
Revolted by the terrible sight he saw, the Serbian duke Sima Nenadovic ordered the tower to be set on fire so that it was partially destroyed, but it was rebuilt in 1836 on the initiative of the Serbian prince Milos Obrenovic.
Today, the tower is protected as a museum of great historical importance. Inside there are many exhibited items from the time when the tower was built and it is worth visiting. I was intrigued by the story and I will definitely come again so that I can go inside. I am very curious about what the interior is like and the view from the tower. Now it was closed because today is a holiday in my country - Orthodox Christmas, so I couldn't get in.
But I enjoyed the view of the surroundings of the tower. It is a very peaceful and natural environment in a forest, beautiful for a walk.
Thank you very much for reading.
The images and writing are original and mine.
Greetings!
Jelena