Velimir's Castles

Where is it

Velimirovi dvori (Velimir's Castles) was built in the very centre of the village Ključ, about 4.5 kilometres from Mionica. It was built on a plateau above the river Lepenica which makes a big curve-meander at the foot of the plateau in the shape of a key, which is how the village got its name (key=Ključ).

Research

Archaeological research begun in 1978 by the Institute for the protection of monuments of cultural heritage from Kragujevac.
Systemic archaeological research was done in 1994 and 1995 by the Institute for the protection of monuments of cultural heritage from Valjevo. Excavations were done inside the church and the larder, and about 60 graves were discovered and inside the larder a pit with great quantity of medieval material.
The oldest traces of life in this area date back to prehistoric times, i.e. copper age. The church, which is the oldest edifice in the complex, is supposed to date from the 15th century. Around the church, a large number of graves from the 16th and 17th century was discovered.
The excavation in the vicinity of the tower-larder confirmed that the edifice belonged to the monastery kitchen and the lodgings.

Description

From former Velimir’s castles the only thing visible in the field today is one dilapidated surrounding wall from eastern and western side about 40 meters long, which used to have a defensive function. A former gate can be observed on the wall.
East from the ramparts there are the walls of the dilapidated church. The church was a one-navy with a narthex in the east. The dimensions of the temple are 12 х 6,7 meters and the added narthex is 7 х 8 meters. There is an added chapel from the north. It was built with hewn stone bound by mortar. The outside façade preserves parts of the painted decoration.
About thirty meters southwest from the temple there is the larder tower. It is actually a rather well-preserved edifice of round base 3 meters in diameter, with walls 0,70 - 0,90 m thick, 6,5 m high, with narrow rectangular widows in the upper part. The opinions on the purpose of this building are divided. One is that it was some kind of hermitage. The other, corroborated by research, is that it was the room for the preparation of food and that it used to belong to the monastery kitchen and lodgings.
Velimir’s castles represent a rare preserved fortified complex of the edifices from the late Middle Ages. This certainly could have been the seat of a feudal property, a fortified court of a local feudal lord about whom the people have preserved some interesting stories.