Kragujevac

With its 180,000 population Kragujevac is the third town in Serbia and the economic lungs of Sumadija. Its industrial activity especially with the only national vehicle factory of Balkans makes of it an important town for the economic life of the country. At the entrance to the town and to the border of the ancient centre itself the complex Zastava is stretching, marking the town and its insides. The factory is a substantial part of the town and had given it its identity since 1945. after the embargo of 1990s and the stubbornness of the communist government the unemployment severely affected the town. But especially the bombings of Zastava in 1999 have left still visible traces on the quays and the square “Crveni barjak” Nevertheless, the stigmata of a recent past should not obliterate the cultural richness of a town of the richness in the events of the past. Because Kragujevac, the resistor has always maintained the relationships for the less loosened with the political power. In 1941 its support to the Resistance cost 700 children’ lives in a sole day.

History

Kragujevac has thus many a time shown in his history its resistor’ and independent spirit. But that cost it repression whereof it still carries the stigmata. One of the first towns to be liberated from Turks on April the 4th 1804, it nevertheless had been half destroyed by the Otomans and had to wait until 1815 to be definitely annexed to the Princedom of Serbia. In 1818 it became for more than twenty years the political centre of Serbia. Prince Milos Obrenovic had installed here the national government. This had led in the 1830s to the construction of the public edifices as the lyceum, the theatre and the printing shop. In those years the reformer of the Serbian language Vuk Karadzic came to Kragujevac and its environment to collect the people’s songs and tales to make new grammar. In 1841 the capital had been moved to Belgrade, but Kragujevac had been developing an industrial zone of the first importance, especially with the arm factory.

But this had sharpened the appetites and it became the preferred target of the Austro-Germans in the I World War. The town had been taken on November 2nd 1915 and General von Mackenen had established here the residence of the allied High Command. As the Germans had substituted Austrians in 1916 the terror on the town had poured down on the town and its avenues had been lined by the hanged on the lamp posts who remained there for many days as an example. Kragujevac had just time to treat its wounds developing its industry and becoming the most developed industrial town in 1939, when the horrors of the II world War poured on the town. The inhabitants refused the Treaty of March 25th 1941 of the Government with the Axis. As an answer Germans had taken the town on April 11th. Here the most tragic episode of the war little known in France had taken place, that denoted the inhumanity of Nazis on the West front. On October 21st 1941 on a sole day 7,000 civilians representing nearly the whole male population of the town had been killed.

Kragujevac had been in 1986 decorated by the Secretary General of the UN with the “Peace Carrier”. In fact, faced with the tragic events it had learned, Kragujevac had developed the activities for the peace as the “First School of Peace”, the “Passport for Peace” or OKTOH, a festival of the classical music with the main theme of the battle anti-war. German diplomacy had also shown since 1970s its will to eradicate the errors of the past. It does not hesitate to bring a humanitarian aid or the subventions for the education.

TOURIST SITES

Historical centre

The main historical monuments are grouped in a limited perimeter. After the street of Karadjordjevic go up the Knez Milos street toward an outstanding park. It will then be sufficient to you to pass the lyceum to descend the Vuk Karadzic street

LYCEUM. In the neoclassical style, this edifice surrounded by trees is one of the nicer buildings in the town. Among the well known students were the founder of the socialist movement Svetozar Markovic and two generals having collaborated with French Army if the Orient in 1915-1918, Putnik and Misic.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, Vuka Karadzica 1. Permanent exhibitions of the Serbian painting of the XIX century and modern Serbian sculpture and painting. But especially this representative building of the architecture of Sumadija from de beginning of the XIX century is the only building remaining today of the Prince Milos residence. Erected in 1818 that what was the residential palace had received Milos Obrenovic in the year of 1820 when Kragujevac was the capital of Serbia.

THE HOUSE OF SVETOZAR MARKOVIC, Sveta Markovic 21. Typical country house of Sumadija. The socialist Svetozar Markovic live here one part of his life. The museum displays the personal documents and objects of this Serbian socialist theoretician from the XIX century.

MONUMENT OF THE DEAD 1804-1815. In a little park en face Lepenica a very nice monument if Ivan Mestrovic where one sees the groups of combatants advancing in the positions of avant-gardists to the four cardinal corners

The memorial museum of Sumarice

The museum that absolutely should be visited, where there are displayed the photos and texts of the best inhabitants killed on October 21st 1941 what makes it still more moving. The event had been so much outside what one knew before that Jean Paul Sartre had written: “each time I hear speaking about Yugoslavia I always feel myself close to the inhabitants if Kragujevac because I remember the heroism of a whole people “. In the morning of October 21st 1941 in response to the violence of Tito’s partisans in the environment, the Nazis have passed the order to evacuate the whole male population and to direct them toward these hill of Sumarice up above the town. A lot of them had succeeded to escape and to join the Resistance Movement, but 7,000 persons had been shot in one sole day. Workers, artisans, engineers or professors had been found in the same common hole the bullet in the back of the head. But the most horrible was the order given to the children from a school to dig their own graves, a trench while their teacher had to sing. They had been killed and their bodies had been covered by the quick lime.

Information: To come to the museum go up the Karadjordjevica street and continue entirely to the right across the park. The museum is in a modern enough building of red brick. “October 21st “museum, Phone: (034) 332-089. Open from 9 a.m. to5 p.m. from Monday to Thursday. Saturday till 3 p.m.. Entrance 40 dinars. A guide is at your disposal and several works about the German occupation and the Serbian resistance.