Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain, Belgrade

Mehmed Paša Sokolović's Fountain is a fountain near Defterdar's Gate in the Belgrade Fortress. It was constructed in 1577 while Grand Visier Mehmed Paša Sokolović served in Serbia. It is known to be the only surviving fountain from his time.

Born in an Orthodox Christian Serbian family, Sokolović was abducted at an early age as part of the Ottoman devsirme system of forcibly converting Christian boys to muslim in order to serve in Ottoman military. He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, eventually became Grand Vizier and served under three sultans.

Although Sokolović was muslim, he remembered his Serbian Orthodox roots and his family. He is credited for persuading Sultan to restore the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć as a gesture of reconciliation.

The fountain has two separate reservoirs. One connects to the water supply constructed during Austrian occupation. The other connects to the older Ottoman-era water supply. It is thought that the connection to the Austrian water supply and an entrance to the reservoir were added between 1719 and 1739.

The fountain was not widely documented after its construction, thus it was lost until the early 20th century. Having been buried, it was uncovered in 1938. The facade and stone slabs were discovered in 1979.

A number of other archaeological discoveries were made while the fountain was unearthed. Among the items founds were remnants from a 3rd century ADE Roman castrum and two urns from the Bronze Age. After they were evaluated, these artifacts were reburied.