Svrčin ( sr-cyr, Сврчин; sq, Svërçin) was one of the castles of

Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...

, built around 1321, on an island in the artificially made Svrčin lake, northeast from present day

Uroševac Ferizaj, . or Uroševac, . Also formerly known as Ferizovići ( tr, Firzovik). is the sixth largest city in Kosovo by population and seat of Ferizaj Municipality and Ferizaj District. Ferizaj has been populated since the prehistoric era by t ...

. The exact location of the medieval Svrčin has not been determined precisely because of a lack archaeological research in the areas in which it is localized, but based on the remains discovered so far, Svrčin was situated between Svrčin hill and present day village Svrčina. It is registered cultural monument under protection of

Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

from 1967.Rešenje Pokrajinskog zavoda za zaštitu spomenika kulture u Prištini, br. 960 od 31.12.1967.g. Zakon o zaštiti spomenika kulture (Sl. glasnik SRS br. 3/66).

History

On September 6, 1327, king Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia issued an edict with a gold seal at Svrčin, written by '' logotet'' Rajko, about the events regarding the land dispute between ''

metochion A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( gr, μετόχιον, metóchion or gr, μετόχι, metóchi; russian: подворье, podvorie) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or ...

'' (church-dependent territory) of

Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...

monastery and the county of the Hardomilić brothers Dmitar and

Borislav Borislav or Boryslav (Cyrillic script: Борислав) is a Slavic male given name. People who have this name include: * Borislav Cvetković, a Croatian-born Serbian football manager and former player *Borislav Ivanov, a Bulgarian chess playe ...

(''

tepčija Tepčija ( sr-cyr, тепчија) was a court title of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages. The functions and position in the court is unclear. It was first mentioned in Croatia in the second half of the 11th century, and later in Serbi ...

'' Hardomil's sons), in which ''

čelnik ''Čelnik'' ( sr-cyr, челник) was a high court title in the Kingdom of Serbia, Serbian Empire and Serbian Despotate. In its early form, the holder was entrusted with the security of property belonging to the Orthodox Church from the aristoc ...

Gradislav Vojšić Gradislav Vojšić ( sr, Градислав Војшић; 1284–1327) was a Serbian nobleman who served the Serbian Kings Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321) and Stefan Uroš III (r. 1322–1331). He was the first known ''čelnik'' of t ...

was the arbitrator.Bozanic, p. 1Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor 1977, p. 68: "Шестог септембра 1327. године долазио је хиландарски игуман Гервасије код краља Стефана Дечанског због спора око међа са синовима тепчије Хардомила. Тада је одређен пристав Градислав Војшић и дванаест староседелаца жупљана, достојних да им се верује кад се закуну и покажу где је међа Косорића, а где хилан- дарског метоха (Законски споменици, стр. 397)" On September 8, 1331

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

was crowned as a king, on a council of nobles held in Svrčin.

Findings

On Svrčin hill stone and bricks that were used for building were found. Remains of church of st. John from which the locals extracted stone for building are located in vicinity of Svrčina. During the construction of the drainage trench, on the northeastern slope of Glavica, a stone wall was found, thickness ranging from 1 to 1.2 meters, as well as part of a tegula. Bricks and stones, which are once part of the building are scattered throughout the area.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Svrcin Castles in Serbia Nemanjić dynasty 14th-century establishments in Serbia Medieval sites in Serbia