Page 239 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

Novo Brdo: The Largest City in Medieval Serbia
Remnants of Church of the Mother of God, Novo Brdo
Serbian women and girls were taken to become concu- bines to the Ottoman commanders. The decline of the once prosperous city, marked by the Ottoman conquest was fi- nalized in the early 17th century when the mines were closed and the city eventually completely abandoned.
The fortress of Novo Brdo is composed of the domi- nant Upper Town of polygonal shape with six massive rect- angular towers. it was built of trimmed broken stone in almost regular layers. The rampart of the Lower Town with two towers stretches towards the west following the con- figuration of the terrain. The urban settlement with the main city church of St. Nicholas was within the Lower
Fortress of Novo Brdo
Town and on a wider space east of the fortress. Roughly 900 graves and tombs, built on carved in the rock were discovered in the Saint Nicholas church and its yard. The remnants of the Saxon church, built by the Roman Catho- lic Saxons and Ragusans were discovered in the eastern portion of the city. archaeological excavations and parallel conservation works in the complex of the fortified town, urban settlement and the church at Novo Brdo were car- ried out in several waves by the Belgrade experts between 1952 and 1969.
Novo Brdo (Photo e. Zečević, 2005)
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