Карауле на граници кнежевине Србије тридесетих година 19. века
Watchtowers on the border of the principality of Serbia in the 1830s

Summary/Abstract: The construction of the watchtowers in the Principality of Serbia began immediately after establishing the borderline at the beginning of 1834. The first steps in this direction were taken due to the danger posed by the Turks from the border regions in the southwestern part of the border and the frequent attacks by Arnauts in the southern part. As a result, the first watchtowers were established in the spring of 1834, stretching from Perućac on the Drina River to the course of the South Morava. It is likely that at the same time, a system of watchtowers was established along the southeastern and eastern parts of the border, from the South Morava to the confluence of the Timok, while along the Drina, watchtowers were set up at the beginning of 1835 to prevent raids by thieves from Bosnia and to generally calm the tense situation in the area, which was connected to the emigration of the Turks and the fact that Mali Zvornik and Sakar remained in Turkish hands. A reform of the border watchtowers cordon followed at the end of 1836, primarily by significantly increasing the number of watchtowers and abolishing paid guards, turning this service into a compulsory duty distributed among the population of the border districts. The increase in the number of watchtowers was motivated by the presence of plague near the border of the Principality of Serbia. During the period covered, the watchtowers had three key tasks: to protect the border from enemy incursions, to protect the population of border areas from looting, and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The re-establishment of paid guards took place in January 1838, and during that and the previous year, new watchtowers continued to be built, strengthening the defense of the borderline. By the beginning of 1838, there were a total of 118 watchtowers along the border of the Principality of Serbia, exclusively on the border with the Ottoman Empire. In contrast, there were no watchtowers along the border with the northern neighbor, the Habsburg Monarchy. This was primarily because the border was clearly defined by the natural barrier of the Danube, which was difficult to cross, unlike the land border between the Principality of Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the northern border of the Principality of Serbia was not inhabited by a population that openly opposed the drawing of the border of the autonomous Principality of Serbia and threatened incursions. Additionally, the plague did not approach the Serbian state from the north but from the south and east. All these reasons naturally directed the development of the watchtower system along the eastern, southern, and western borders of the Principality of Serbia.

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