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The alleged skull of Stevan Sinđelić, who commanded the serbial rebels during the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, in 1809. As retribution, Hurshid Pasha had a tower constructed from the skulls of the fallen Serbian soldiers. The last Ottoman governor of Niš, Midhat Pasha, being apparently a bit more refined, ordered the dismantling of the Skull tower, but met the opposition of the local Turkish population, so the tower was preserved. Today 58 (of the original 952) skulls remain. A chapel was built around the tower in 1894 and renovated in 1937. In 1948 the Skull Tower and Chaper were declared Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance and are considered today a symbol of independence of the Serbian people.