ŽUPANJEVAC

Centre of Levač

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

Although it is a site of historical significance, little is known about the town’s origins and its builders. Numerous early travellers and researchers, such as Felix Kanitz and Milan Milićević, have mentioned it. Recent archaeological explorations 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. Notably, on the site of Grad, situated on a prominent hill above the village, lie the remnants of another fortification that, along 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 reached its zenith immediately after the Battle of Kosovo, serving as a residence for the highest echelons of Serbian nobility, including Princess Milica. The only historical document that references Županjevac is a charter issued in 1398 by Princess Milica, who had by then been ordained as Sister Evgenija. In this charter, composed at the Monastery of Županjevac, she returned previously confiscated estates to the Hilandar Monastery. It is also believed that she resided in the town a decade earlier during the construction of the Ljubostinja Monastery. According to tradition, Princess Milica established her endowment on the former lands of a certain župan named Nikola, although it remains unclear which župan this refers to. Some evidence suggests it may have been Nikola Altomanović, a powerful nobleman from the Vojinović family, whose territories extended from Rudnik in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. The significance of Županjevac is further underscored by the fact that, upon their arrival in Serbia in 1398, the relics of Saint Petka were initially housed 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 and the capital of Kruševac was besieged. This event is believed to have marked the end of life in Županjevac.

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

Today, the site of the town of Županjevac reveals clearly visible and, in some areas, well-preserved remains of a medieval fortress and monastery. The fortification features an irregular oval layout, shaped 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. Between them stood a rectangular entrance tower, accessible via a pathway. The massive walls, measuring up to three meters thick, were built using irregularly shaped pieces of broken stone set in lime mortar. Within the fortress, at the centre of the plateau, 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 quarters, 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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