Skull Tower

Serbia has a fine line in gruesome historical monuments, but few elicit as much dread and revulsion as the Skull Tower, which is exactly what it claims it is. The name doesn't raise any concerns about the major material utilized to build the structure.

Skull Tower is a 4 m (13 ft) tall structure with human skulls built into the wall. As the massively outnumbered Serbian army was about to lose the Battle of egar in 1809, the commander Stevan Sineli fired at a magazine of cannon powder, killing the surviving men from both sides. To commemorate the triumph, the Ottoman commander ordered the heads of all 952 slain Serbian troops to be severed. The heads were peeled, stuffed, and incorporated into a wall. The structure may still be seen today in a museum building. Many skulls were stolen and buried by family members, while others were destroyed over time, leaving only 54 skulls.

• Entrance fees: 130 dinar
• Opening time:
  Sunday: 9am - 12am
  Monday: Closed
  Tuesday - Saturday: 9am - 6pm
• Recommended duration: 1 hour
• Contact: +381 18 222228
• Location: Bulevar Dr Zorana Đinđića, Niš, Serbia