Lazar Dobrić also known as Laza Harambaša also spelled Harambascha(Serbian: Лазар Добрић или (or) Лаза Харамбаша; Sase c. 1755–1803) was a

Serbian hajduk The Serbian hajduks ( sr, хајдуци / ''hajduci'') were brigands ( bandits) and guerrilla freedom fighters ( rebels) throughout Ottoman-held Balkans, mainly in Serbia, organized into bands headed by a '' harambaša'' ("bandit leader"), who ...

who went by the name of Laza Harambaša and was widely-known in two empires, Ottoman and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

as a ''Räuberhauptmann''. Lazar Dobrić was a hajduk leader, he mostly stayed in Srem (then part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

) but also along the coast of the Sava and the Danube rivers and surrounding regions of Ottoman-occupied territories. He is remembered as a hajduk who robbed Turkish and Austrian merchants and often distributed part of the spoils, especially wheat, flour, and other goods, to the people. The legend of Laza Harambaša has some similarities with the story of Robin Hood, but it also has many more real foundations. He established a fortress surrounded by trenches on an island called

Čakljanac Čakljanac ( sr-Cyrl, Чакљанац) is a river island located on the Danube in Serbia, south of another river island Forkontumac and the city of Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; german: Pantschowa; hu, Pancsova; ro ...

which was his haven when Austrian or Ottoman authorities went to search for him. He was never caught. It is well documented that

Stanoje Glavaš Stanoje Stamatović ( sr-cyr, Станоје Стаматовић), known as Stanoje Glavaš (Станоје Главаш; 21 February 1763 – 15 February 1815) was a Serbian hajduk and hero in the First Serbian Uprising. Life Glavaš was born i ...

and

Hajduk Veljko Veljko Petrović ( sr-cyr, Вељко Петровић, ; c. 1780 – 1813), known simply as Hajduk Veljko (Хајдук Вељко, ǎjduːk v̞ɛ̌ːʎkɔ, was one of the '' vojvodas'' (military commanders) of the Serbian Revolutionary force ...

learned their fighting skills in his company, and Karađorđe was also in his ranks. Lazar Dobrić was married to Pelagija Vujković.

Legacy

In 2018 a statue of his likeness was erected in Novi Karlovci. He was memorialized in the writings of

Dušan J. Popović Dušan J. Popović (1894–1985) was a Serbian historian, a professor at the University of Belgrade. His works largely dealt with Serbs living in the 18th century outside of what latter would become known as the Serbia proper Central Serbi ...

, Ignjat Sopron, and Sreten Popović.

References

1750s births 1805 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Serbia-bio-stub