Gradina Tower is a remainder of a military fortification (''Gradina'') in the village of

Radljevo Radljevo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Ub municipality, in the Kolubara District of Central Serbia. The village has a population of 611 inhabitants, as of 2011 census. Historical population *1948: 1165 *1953: 1172 *1961: ...

, 11 kilometers from

Ivanjica Ivanjica ( sr-Cyrl, Ивањица, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 27,767 inhabitants. With an area of 1090 km2, it is the eighth ...

, in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Today, the tower is a culturally-historical monument. The monument consists of a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and remains of a

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

of a military fortification. Next to the fortress, there is a church dedicated to St. Elias. To the ramparts, whose highest point is at 635m, leads a steep winding dirt road. From one side protected by Moravica and the rocks, this object could easily control communication route from

Užice Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a popu ...

Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia, on the vast Sjenica- Pešter plateau and geographically located in the central part of Sandžak. The population of the municip ...

, but also the one that leads to the valley of the

Ibar River The Ibar ( sr-cyrl, Ибар, ), also known as the Ibër and Ibri (), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rožaje, eastern Mo ...

.Археолошка налазишта, споменици културе општине Ивањица
, accessed: May 11, 2014

History

It is estimated that the tower was built in the 13th or 14th century, on the basis of method of construction walls and ceramic material found in the tower. Fragments of polished containers and findings of archaic majolica inside of the investigated tower, indicate that the tower existed in the second half of the 14th century. Prehistoric pottery located at the foot of the fortification extend the importance of the site for several epochs. As at that time the center of the

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

, as a rule, was a fortified town, on the basis of archaeological material it is assumed that this was the site of the city of Moravica, located in the center of the župa of the same name. It is assumed that the wider basin of Moravica is hiding vast archaeological treasures. Scientists who worked on the project ''Serbian lands in the Middle Ages'' from the

Historical Institute in Belgrade History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

during the 2006 and 2008 have estimated that Ivanjica region has a very large archaeological potential, but it is one of the least explored. Sporadic research was also conducted at sites of

Erčege Erčege is a village in the municipality of Ivanjica, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

Radaljevo Radaljevo is a village in the municipality of Ivanjica, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

, where presumably another fort could be. Some archaeological artifacts have been found in the villages of

Bukovica Bukovica may refer to: Croatia *Bukovica, Dalmatia, a geographical region in Croatia *Bukovica, Sisak-Moslavina County, a village near Topusko * Bukovica, Brod-Posavina County, a village near Rešetari * Nova Bukovica, a village and municipality ...

and

Kušići Kušići ( sr-cyr, Кушићи) is a village located in the municipality of Ivanjica, southwestern Serbia. It is situated on the slopes of the Javor (western Serbia), Javor mountain, about from Ivanjica and from Belgrade and is 990m above sea l ...

. In this region was also found a collection of silver coins dating from the 2nd century of the new era.Куле криле војску, о пројекту „Српске земље у средњем веку“, Ивањица
Jela Raković, Večernje Novosti, accessed: May 11, 2014

References

{{reflist Ivanjica Towers in Serbia