The Gruža (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Гружа, ) is a geographical region in central

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. This region, containing a village of the same name, is poetically referred to as the ''Heart of

Šumadija Šumadija (, sr-Cyrl, Шумадија) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of the ...

''.

Geography

The Gruža is a micro-region and makes the southern part of the Šumadija region of central Serbia (also called ''High Šumadija''). It is bounded by the West Pomoravlje to the south, the mountain of Gledićke planine and the

Levač Levač ( sr, Левач) is a historical region in central Serbia. It is located between Juhor mountain on east and Gledićke planine on west.

region to the east, the Takovo and Lepenica regions to the north and the Kotlenik mountain to the west. The central part of the region is the depression of Gruža (Gružanska kotlina; Cyrillic: Гружанска котлина) in the river valley. Due to its geographical location, in the center of Serbia, it is nicknamed the ''Heart of

''. The region is very fertile and thus almost exclusively an agricultural area. Even though populated by many villages (58 settlements), they all have small population and are increasingly depopulating, despite the land's fertility. Population fell from 23,192 in 1971 (56 inhabitants per km²) to 16,148 in 2002 (only 39 inhabitants per km²), as previously very much developed industries in the nearby towns of Gornji Milanovac,

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar, in the geographical region of Šumadija, between the mountains of K ...

and

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

constantly attracted the manpower from the Gruža region (for example, the density of population in the neighboring Lepenica region, where the city of Kragujevac is located, is over 280 inhabitants per km²). The Gruža river valley in the center of the region is the route for the regional Kragujevac-Kraljevo road and railway. The center of the region is the municipal seat of

Knić Knić (; ) is a village and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 2,166, while population of the municipality is 14,237. Settlements Aside from the town of Knić, ...

, which is located 4 km west from the Gruža river.

Culture

*''Lepe li su nano Gružanke devojke'' (Oh grandma, girls from Gruža are beautiful) is an old and popular Serbian folk song. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruza Geographical regions of Serbia Geography of Šumadija and Western Serbia Šumadija