Skull Tower
Skull Tower
4
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 12:00 AM
About
It dates from a time when Ottoman soldiers were growing increasingly tired of Serb rebellions against their rule. After quelling one such uprising in 1809, Ottoman troops decapitated 952 fallen Serbs and built the short, square tower out of the Serbs' heads. While the Ottomans intended it to serve as a warning to the local population, within a few years the Serbs had managed to rid their lands of the Ottoman occupiers, and they preserved the Skull Tower as a memorial to the sacrifice of the early Serb nationalists.
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4.0
332 reviews
Excellent
138
Very good
113
Average
62
Poor
16
Terrible
3
IgorMarkovic
Smederevo, Serbia1,856 contributions
Sept 2021
The Ćele kula Museum is a remembrance of the great sacrifice made by Serbian warriors in their fight against the Ottoman occupation of Serbia and Niš. Although the battle for Niš was lost, the intentional and man-made explosion of unimaginable scale has become a historical and legendary. If you're in Niš, make sure to visit this place, it is really thought provoking and quite emotional. All recommendations!
Written 4 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matkaaja
Eura, Finland118 contributions
July 2024 • Solo
I understand the history and importance but still this place is not worth the visit. You can read the story from somewhere else (there is a few lines on an board at the museum) and that is about what you get. There is a few skulls in the tower but nothing really worth to see.
With a 30 min guided tour this would be ok. Like this it is an underperformance.
With a 30 min guided tour this would be ok. Like this it is an underperformance.
Written 17 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
map&camera
Sofia, Bulgaria468 contributions
Feb 2021
The monument means a lot to the people of the Balkans as most of their coutries were under Ottoman rule for centuries. There was an uprising (The First Serbian Rebellion) in 1809. The rebellion was defeated and the Ottomans gathered the sculls of all 952 dead Serbian men from the battlefield and made a tower from them as a warning to any possible rebellions in the future. After Serbia gained its independence most of the skulls were buried, a little over 50 remaining in the tower nowadays. Later on a chapel was built over the remnants ot the tower.
Written 17 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jean-Pierre Popieul
4 contributions
June 2020 • Couples
Skull tower was the second attraction we visited (First was the nazi camp) only a few hours after our flight landed from Brooklyn.
Being able to figure the faces of these Jewish victims despite the decay of their skulls was extremely moving and my boyfriend couldn’t stand the vision of the atrocities committed by the nazis and vomited on the premises soon after exiting the tower.
The only positive touch is only 5% of the spots carved by the nazis to exhibit the skulls were occupied as US Army liberated Serbia soon enough to avoid mass killings.
Being able to figure the faces of these Jewish victims despite the decay of their skulls was extremely moving and my boyfriend couldn’t stand the vision of the atrocities committed by the nazis and vomited on the premises soon after exiting the tower.
The only positive touch is only 5% of the spots carved by the nazis to exhibit the skulls were occupied as US Army liberated Serbia soon enough to avoid mass killings.
Written 28 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MissHK2009
Hong Kong, China6,108 contributions
Mar 2024 • Solo
It's one of the stops in my day tour to Nis Serbia from Sophia Bulgaria. 5-10 mins' visit here will be enough because the tower room is rather small. But one must have learned the history/ story behind the establishment of such tower before the visit, which our tour guide kindly did.
Written 8 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Johannesve
Munich, Germany17 contributions
Mar 2020
The skull tower is a big piece of history - although it does not look as impressive as it used to (only 60 of 900 skulls are left) you can still get a glimpse into the culture centuries ago.
And it is a unique place, at least I have never seen anything similar.
Must see if in Nis
And it is a unique place, at least I have never seen anything similar.
Must see if in Nis
Written 10 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BlueNoseBrother
Edinburgh, UK685 contributions
June 2024 • Couples
This macabre but very interesting historic site is definitely worth a look.
Read the story before you go so as to understand the Towers full significance.
That said, there are good information boards at the site in Bulgarian and English. There is parking nearby and the site was not busy at time of our visit.
Read the story before you go so as to understand the Towers full significance.
That said, there are good information boards at the site in Bulgarian and English. There is parking nearby and the site was not busy at time of our visit.
Written 12 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ockergirl
Howey in the Hills, FL32 contributions
Oct 2012 • Couples
Although I have been to Cel Kula before, I always find it emotional and moving. Basically, after the battle of Ceger, the Turkish commandant of the Nis garrison ordered that the heads of the Serbian soldiers killed in the uprising against the Turks, be beheaded and the skin be peeled from the heads and the skulls sent to Istanbul. The remaining skulls were used to build a ten meter tall tower that stood on the road between Nis and Istanbul as an example of the fate that would befall anyone who dared rebel against Turkish rule. We had an excellent English speaking guide and although there is not much left of the original tower, you can't help but think that these men were someone's husbands and fathers, brothers and sons, many of them mere boys. On the road out of town toward the Bulgarian border, it is in a rather nondescript part of town inside a chapel built to commemorate the event and to protect what remains of the tower.
Written 16 October 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
billvangr
Ioannina, Greece31 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
Worth a visit if you are near by. A great reminder of Serbian bravery and Ottoman cruelty!Tickets cost a bit above a euro and a tour guide presentation is included.
Written 31 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert C
Redlands, CA2,408 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
There is not a separate destination for Mediana, so I am adding this under Cele Kula and hoping that Mediana will be listed as a separate destination. Constantine the Great was born in Naissus in about 272, which was the precursor of modern Nis. As Roman Emperor, he paved the way for the toleration of Christianity and eventually founded Constantinople (today Istanbul). which he made the capital of the Roman Empire. As emperor, Constantine did not forget his birthplace. He built a residence in a suburb of Naissus known as Mediana, where he often stayed. He passed laws from Naissus in 315, 319, 324 and 334. Mediana was also used by later Roman emperors as a temproary residence. It was from Mediana, in 364, that the emperors Valentinian and Valens met to divide the Roman Empire. Valentinian was determined to be co-emperor of the west with his headquarters in Milan and Valens was to be co-emperor of the east with his headquarters in Constantinople. Mediana is the best preserved part of Roman Naissus. The central area of Mediana was occupied by a villa, which I understand to be Constantine's residence, with columns, frescoes and floor mosaics. I love Roman history and the history of Constantine. We visited in May 2013, but were disappointed to find that in order to get into the site we needed to make previous arrangements with the Nis National Museum (tel: +381 18 550-433). The gate was open and we saw people inside. So we walked in a ways and took some pictures from a distance before turning back. For those with interests in Roman history or the perpetuation of Christianity, of which Constantine played such a big part, Mediana is worth a stop.
Written 15 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yes, it is. I visited it last sunday, Feb 7th.
Written 17 February 2021
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