Vučje

Vučje (Serbian Cyrillic: Вучје) is a town in southern Serbia, located some 15 km south from the city of Leskovac, its municipal seat. The population of the town is 2,865 people (2002 census). It is known for its archaeological site, Zelen grad, ruins of a medieval town.^[1]

Zelen grad

Zelen grad; Skobaljić grad Зелен град; Скобаљић град
near Leskovac Serbia
Small wall section
Type	Fortification
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	15th century
Built by	Nikola Skobaljić
Materials	Stone, brick

Zelen grad, also known as Skobaljić grad, was a medieval fortified town located on a cliff above Vučje. The locality itself is multi-layered: the oldest traces of settlements in this area go back to Chalcolithic age. Also, fragments of the ceramics found on the locality testify that it was also important during different phases of the Bronze age, due to it's location and defensiveness. The oldest stone fort date back to pre-Roman times, while the layer built out of stone and bricks combined with mortar date back to the early Byzantine ages. According to the archeological discoveries, the fortification was extensively used between 10th and 13th centuries, to be refortified and expanded in the 15th century. The most of today's visible remains date back to that period. Nikola Skobaljić was governing the town at the time, thus the name Skobaljić grad.

The town consisted of upper town, lower town, and the suburb that expanded eastwards up to the Vučjanka river. Upper town's surface is around 400 squared meters overall. It had two diagonally placed towers - one being the access tower towards the lower town, and the other being a large donjon tower in the northwestern corner. Surface of the lower town is believed to be as big as 1400 squared meters. Based on the pottery found in the compound, as well as some preserved details of the fortification, indicates that the town had a significant importance during the times of Desa Vukanović, Stefan Nemanja, and his successors. The complex is located on steep rock, overgrown with tall trees, above a narrow terrain which is limited by a river. The town silhouette is barely spotted against the trees and terrain until in near immediate vicinity, so it is believed that it was a very well-defensible town. This may be one of the reasons why the town is called Zelen grad (Green town).

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vučje.

• Official website