This memorial serves as a reminder of an event that marked the liberation of Serbia from Turkish rule in the spring of 1867. The work of sculptor Mihailo Paunovic, the memorial was erected in 1967 on the centennial of the historic occasion. The exact spot where the keys were handed over is located a few metres behind the memorial and is marked by a small earthen mound around which thujas are planted.

Although Prince Mihailo received the ferman on the handover of administration of Serbian cities from Sultan Abdulaziz in Constantinople, the Sultan’s ferman was officially announced at a special ceremony held in Belgrade. Afterwhich, the commander of the Belgrade Fortress symbolically handed over the keys to Prince Mihailo and the Serbian flag replaced the Turkish one at the fortress. The names of the cities whose keys were returned to the Serbs — Sabac, Belgrade, Smederevo, Kladovo, Uzice and Soko — are inscribed on the pedestal of the Prince Mihailo Monument at Republic Square.