The Residence of Prince Milos

The church lodge (konak) in Topčiderwas built between 1830 and 1832, in the spirit of local secular architecture.This is a modified form of a larger Šumadija country house called bondručara, with a basement and a ground floor. The basement was made of stone, and the ground floor using the ‘bondruk’ type of construction (half-timber work). The main façade, with a wooden staircase and porch, faces the street, while the back side with the entrance faces the churchyard. The quiet facades have simple finishing. The hip-roof with eaves is covered in old funnel-shaped tiles (ćeramida). The konak was the seat of Serbia’s first metropolitan bishops, Milentije Pavlović (1831–1833) and Petar Jovanović (1833–1859). The first Constitution of the Orthodox Church in the Principality of Serbia was written in this house (July 1835), which was later adopted by the National Assembly in Kragujevac, on January 31, 1836. From the second half of the 19th century up until today, the lodge has been the residence of the priest of the Topčider Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.