31.05.2018.
Commemorating the 209th Anniversary of the Battle of Čegar
The anniversary of the Battle of Čegar near Niš, where the Serbs and Turks clashed on 31st May 1809, was marked by a state ceremony and laying wreaths in honour of the fallen fighters from the First Serbian Uprising.
The state ceremony was led by Negovan Stanković, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, and the wreaths at the monument to Stevan Sinđelić, the prominent military leader of the Battle of Čegar, were laid by representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, the City of Niš, the Municipality of Pantelei, the Serbian-Russian humanitarian centre, the Sinđelić family, as well as a large number of citizens' associations committed to preserving a dignified memory of participants and victims of armed conflicts.
The Battle of Čegar is one of the most important battles of the First Serbian Uprising. According to historical sources, the military leader Stevan Sinđelić of Resava, when he realised that he was going to lose the battle against the numerically superior Turks, shot at the gun powder depot from his flintlock rifle and caused an explosion that killed all Serbian soldiers, about 3,000 of them, and about 6,000 Turks. After the battle, in retaliation for it, the Turks built a Skull-Tower at the then entrance to Niš building in 952 heads of Serbian insurgents.