Kragujevac » Kragujevac | 83 Kr agu j evac, at t he heart of Šumad i j a The city that witnessed the rise of Serbia The old capital of Serbia, a city of charming Vienna Secession style architecture, a site of glorious and tragic events of the past, Kragujevac is a city that you won’t forget easily Magnificent sites that marked previous centuries with their history, monasteries and churches that preserve the spirit ofChristianOrthodoxy, alluringly authentic gastronomy and, first and foremost, the people and their hospitality, will all ensure that you never forget this part of Serbia. In Kragujevac, and Šumadija generally, you shouldn’t rush, but rather slowly taste, listen, explore, relax and enjoy yourself. The first recordedmentionof the city’s namewas in Ottoman records of 1476, which are today preserved in the Turkish Government Archives in Istanbul. The occupying Ottoman Turks finally departed from Kragujevac in 1815, following the Second Serbian Uprising, while the turning point for the city came in 1818, when PrinceMiloš Obrenović declared it the capital of Serbia. The most significant area of Kragujevac is the cultural and historical complex of Milošev venac [Miloš’s Wreath], which encompasses part of the territory of the city centre. It is the locationof the city’smost important buildings constructed during the timewhenKragujevac was the first capital of the modern Serbian state (1818 - 1841), and is named after Prince Miloš, in honour of himproclaimingKragujevac the capital of the thennewly liberated Serbia. Its most important attractions are concentrated on the left and right banks of the Lepenica, the longest river in the Kragujevac basin, at around 48 km long, the banks of which are connected in the city centre by old reinforced concrete bridges that represented the first of their kind in Serbia. In the immediate vicinity is the Prince’s Arsenal, representing a unique military-industrial and architectural complex in Serbia and Europe. This complex with a specific ambience consists of factory buildings and workshops that date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was declared a cultural asset of great importance in 1979. A churchwas built at the behest ofMilošObrenović in 1818, and it was there that the assembly held its sessionsuntil the constructionof theparliament building in 1859. And it was thus here, in 1835, that the first SerbianConstitution, better known as the SretenjeConstitution, was adopted. The belltower was designed in 1907 by Jovan Ilkić, the man who is also responsible for Belgrade’s Serbian National Assembly building. The chair that the prince sat on is still in the church, completewith the Serbian coat of arms and a small Turkish turban engraved on the back. In the courtyard stands another significant building: thefirst SerbianParliament, constructed in 1859, where Jovan Ristić, a Kragujevac native and a great Serbian diplomat, read the decision of the BerlinCongress for Serbia to become an independent state. The Old Foundry Museum is located in the building of the former Smelter from 1882, and is a part of Najznačajniji je kulturnoistorijski kompleks Milošev venac, koji obuhvata deo centralnog gradskog područja The most significant area of Kragujevac is the cultural and historical complex of Milošev venac [Miloš’s Wreath], which encompasses part of the territory of the city centre Foto:Depositphotos
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