ŽUPANJEVAC

Center of Levač

The mediaeval town of Županjevac is situated on a flat plateau above the right bank of the Županjevka River, in the village of the same name, not far from the Kalenić Monastery. Also known as Županjevac Town or Lower Town, this fortress initially served as a watchtower at the entrance to a river gorge. Over time, it first evolved into a noble residence and later into a monastery. Thus, it became, at least according to its name, the centre of the medieval region (župa) of Levač in the 14^th and 15^th centuries. There are indications that it was once the Župan Nikola Altomanović’s seat.

Although it is a site of historical significance, little is known about the town’s origins and builders. It has been mentioned by numerous early travellers and researchers, such as Felix Kanitz and Milan Milićević. Recent archaeological investigations have revealed that the town was constructed in the 14^th century over older Roman remains. The preserved toponyms around Županjevac—such as Grad, Velika and Mala Straževica, Trgovište, and Carine with the remnants of a church—vividly testify to the vibrant life that once flourished here. It’s worth noting that on the site of Grad, situated on a prominent hill above the village, lie the remnants of another fortification that, together with the Lower Town, formed a comprehensive defence system. This fortress will be discussed in more detail on a separate page.

ABOVE: Map of the site

ABOVE: Remains of the medieval rampart stand next to the present-day village cemetery

ABOVE: Foundations of the medieval church

Županjevac experienced its peak immediately after the Battle of Kosovo, serving as a residence for the highest Serbian nobility, including Princess Milica. The only historical document that mentions Županjevac is a 1398 charter issued by Princess Milica, by then the nun Evgenija. In this charter, composed in the Monastery of Županjevac, she returned previously confiscated estates to the Hilandar Monastery. It is also assumed that she resided in the town a decade earlier during the construction of the Ljubostinja Monastery. According to belief, Princess Milica built her endowment on the former lands of a certain župan Nikola, although it is unclear which župan this refers to. Some evidence suggests it may have been Nikola Altomanović, a powerful nobleman from the Vojinović family, whose territories stretched from Rudnik in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. The significance of medieval Županjevac is further emphasised by the fact that, upon their arrival in Serbia in 1398, the relics of Saint Petka were at first kept in this town before being transferred to the royal church of Lazarica in Kruševac. Županjevac likely fell during Sultan Musa’s campaign in 1413, when the nearby fortresses of Lipovac, Bovan, and Stalać were destroyed, while the capital of Kruševac was besieged. It is believed that this event marked the end of life in Županjevac.

ABOVE: Detail of the medieval wall with gravestones of a recent date

Today, the site of the Županjevac town reveals clearly visible and, in some areas, well-preserved remains of the medieval fortress and monastery. The fortification had an irregular oval layout dictated by the contours of the hilltop on which it was constructed. The remnants of two circular towers can still be seen at its prominent northwest and south corners. Amid them stood a rectangular entrance tower, accessible by a pathway. The massive walls, up to three meters thick, were built using irregularly shaped pieces of broken stone set in lime mortar. Within the fortress, at the plateau’s centre, stood a monastery church dating from the 13^th to the 15^th centuries, along with various auxiliary buildings. Only the foundations and lower wall segments of the church, the residential premises, and the economic structures remain, while some sections of the rampart are preserved to a height of over two meters. According to some accounts, the fortress had two entrances: a main gate to the south and a postern gate to the north. Adjacent to the foundations of the ruined medieval church, on its southern side, the present-day Church of St. Elijah the Prophet was built in 1851, followed later by monuments commemorating those who fell in the two World Wars.

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