JAKŠIĆ TOWER

The tower is erected at the most prominent corner of the eastern outer town.

The name of the tower derives from the Serbian epic poetry, which talks about the division of the inheritance and the dispute over its division between the brothers Dmitri and Bogdan Jakšić.There is no historical connection between the Jakšić brothers and the creation of the tower.
The tower was built during the Hungarian rule over Belgrade which lasted from 1456 to the end of the 15th century. In accordance with the concepts of warfare of that time, the Jakšić tower was built to accommodate cannon. It is an octagonal building, 4.90 meters wide. The inner space was partitioned by wooden floors, most likely five of them, and the cannon openings corresponded to each of these levels. The Jakšić tower could accommodate 10 to 15 cannon, which must have greatly improved the organisation of the town's defence. The tower was constructed in brick and stone, with the outer faces built with neatly cut sandstone blocks. During its history, the building underwent changes in both shape and function. Its present appearence results from the 1938 reconstruction.

In the course of the 1915. WWI battles for Belgrade, many fallen soldiers were buried along the ramparts of the Belgrade fortress. After WWI their remains were collected and buried in a charnel house by the Jakšić tower. The ossuary was marked with a cross made out of cannon barrels. The monument commemorates the bravery of the soldiers who, led by major Dragutin Gavrilović, defended Belgrade from the German and Austrian-Hungarian armies. The defenders of Belgrade prevented the attacks of the opponents from the Danube and the Sava, but when it became clear that the capital was to be lost, the major allegedly gave a speech in which he tried to further encourage the soldiers, at the same time pointing out the inevitability of defeat.