Knjaževac ( sr-cyr, Књажевац, ) is a town and municipality located in the

Zaječar District The Zaječar District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , im ...

of the eastern Serbia. As of 2022, the municipality has a population of 25,341 inhabitants, while the town has 16,350 inhabitants. The town is situated between three mountains, in the geographical region of the Timok Valley bordering

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

History

Near Knjaževac, in the village of Gabrovnica, there is a cave whose walls hide the only preserved prehistoric cave drawing in Serbia. The drawing is related to the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age. Its age is between 3000 and 4000 years. Based on the type of dagger that is represented above the horse's neck, it is concluded that the drawing is from the Bronze Age period. In the Roman period, '' Timacum Minus'' fort existed near the village of Ravna, within the present municipality. It was built in the 1st century near the Roman road Naissus–Ratiaria and used for hundreds of years, with the last restoration during the Justinian era. Medieval monuments in the area include the 14th century Church of the Holy Mother of God in Donja Kamenica, notable for its unusual architectural style and

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

paintings. Holy Trinity Monastery is located in the village of Gornja Kamenica and dates back from the 15th century. Both sites are protected as cultural monuments of great importance. The area was occupied by the Ottomans in 1396 and became a part of Sanjak of Vidin. According to the records from the XVII century, the town consisted of 46 Turkish and 120 Christian households. In 1833, the town, formerly known as ''Gurgusovac'', was liberated from the Ottoman Empire and was administrated into the

Krajina Krajina () is a Slavic languages, Slavic toponym, meaning 'country' or 'march (territory), march'. The term is related to ''kraj'' or ''krai'', originally meanings ''land'', ''country'' or ''edge''Rick Derksen (2008), ''Etymological Dictionary of t ...

nahija of the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

in 1834. In 1859 the official name was changed to Knjaževac. From 1929 to 1944, Knjaževac was part of the Morava Banovina of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. In 1944, a train tunnel was built in the town, which is depicted in the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Gurgusovac Tower

During the Ottoman period, the fortress, known as the Gurgusovac Tower, after the then name of the town, was built with a purpose to control the

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

road. Strategically located, encompassed by the rampart and a deep trench, the fort hosted the company of 100 soldiers. The tower with two floors and a basement was square shaped and the rampart surrounding it was long, wide and tall. After the liberation from the Ottomans, the fort lost its strategic importance and was turned into a dungeon-type prison. Numerous adversaries of Prince Alexander Karađorđević and the

Defenders of the Constitution The Defenders of the Constitution (, ''Ustavobranitelji'') was a political regime that achieved power in Serbia in 1842 by overthrowing young Prince Mihailo Obrenović. History Led by Toma Vučić Perišić and later Ilija Garašanin, Serbian ...

regime were jailed in the tower. Due to its notoriety because of the torture and abuse, it became a symbol of suffering and was nicknamed the "Serbian

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

". After Prince Miloš Obrenović returned to Serbia in 1858 and replaced Alexander Karađorđević, he visited Gurgusovac and ordered for the tower to be burned to the ground. The tower was razed, with only one wall and an entry gate remaining, while in order to commemorate the prince's decision, the name of the town of Gurgusovac was changed to Knјаževac ("Prince's town") on 17 January 1859. In the 2010s, the area of the former tower was adapted into the open-air cultural venue, including the summer stage. The wall and the gate were kept while the additional walls were rebuilt on the remaining foundations.

Geography

The municipality extends over an area of 1202km² and is the sixth largest in the Republic of Serbia. Its countryside is mostly hilly and mountainous. The highest point in the territory of the municipality is

Midžor Midžor ( sr-cyr, Миџор, ) or Midzhur (, ) is a peak in the Balkan Mountains, situated on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. At , it is the highest peak of the Western Balkan Mountains, as well as the highest in Serbia.Including Kosovo, ...

Stara Planina The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about , first ...

(2169 m), which is also the second highest peak in the Republic of Serbia. The lowest point is 176 metres high and is situated in the Knjaževac valley. There are 86 inhabited places in the municipality of which 85 are villages. The town itself is situated at the confluence of the

Trgoviški Timok The Trgoviški Timok ( sr-Cyrl, Трговишки Тимок, "Timok of Trgovište") is a river in Serbia, also known as Korenatac ( sr-Cyrl, Коренатац, link=no) or Strma River ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Стрма река, Strma reka, separator=" ...

and the Svrljiški Timok which become the Beli Timok. It flows on towards

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city administrative area had a population of 48,621 inhabitants. Zaječar is widely ...

, merges with the Crni Timok and becomes simply, Timok. It is this river that gives name to the Timok Valley region. Knjaževac is connected with other towns by road and railroad traffic. It is located between the latitudes of 43°20' and 43°45' north and between the longitudes 22°11' and 22°41' east.

Climate

Knjaževac has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfa'') bordering on a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

: ''Csa''). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of , whereas the coldest month is January with average temperature of . Average annual rainfall is 606.7 mm/m². There are 306 sunny days and 21 days with snow in a year.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Knjaževac has 31,491 inhabitants, of which 18,404 inhabitants live in urban area. The average population density is 26.2 inhabitants per square kilometer making it a sparsely populated municipality.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Tourism

Knjaževac, with its Babin Zub ski center at an elevation of 1,758m offers opportunities for tourism and sports events. Its picnic areas are set in areas of natural beauty (like Banjica, Baranica and other), places for rest and recreation. The 14th-century Church of the Holy Mother of God lies in the nearby village of Donja Kamenica. In 2014, Knjaževac was chosen as the outstanding destination in Europe. (Project EDEN Network)

Notable people

* Nenad Marinković, footballer * Milos Milos, actor and bodyguard of Alain Delon * Tihomir Đorđević, ethnologist, folklorist, cultural historian and professor at the University of Belgrade. * Miloš Milojević, Football coach.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Knjaževac is twinned with: * Belogradchik,

, since 2011. * Novi Bečej,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Gallery

Knjazevac-1, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Knjaževac Crkva-1, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Church in Knjaževac Knjazevac, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Centre of Knjaževac Carsija-4, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Knjaževac Carsija-3, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Knjaževac Crkva-3, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Church in Knjaževac Posta-2, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Knjaževac Dsc5763-vila, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Villa in Knjaževac Spomen-park-3, Zavičajni muzej Knjaževac.jpg, Memorial park in Knjaževac, dedicated to the soldiers fallen in the liberation wars 1803-1945

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knjazevac Populated places in Zaječar District Timok Valley Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia