The Gruža ( sr-Cyr, Гружа, ) is a geographical region in central

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 ...

. The region, containing a village of the same name, due to its location 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 t ...

''.

Geography

The region is located in the valley of the Gruža river, with developed agriculture and numerous settlements. The watershed itself covers , but the region covers as it includes the valley of the Velika Reka. The Gruža is a micro-region and makes the southern part of the Šumadija region of central Serbia (also called High Šumadija). It stretches in the northwest-southeast direction, and is bounded by the West Pomoravlje to the south, the Gledić Mountains and the

Levač Levač ( sr-Cyrl, Левач) is a historical region in central Serbia. It is located between Juhor mountain on east and Gledićke planine on west.Rudnik and Ješevac mopuntains, and Takovo and Lepenica regions to the north, and the

Kotlenik Kotlenik (Serbian Cyrillic: Котленик) is a mountain in central Serbia, near the town of Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central S ...

mountain to the west. The central part of the region is the Gruža Depression. Due to its geographical location, in the center of Serbia, it is nicknamed the Heart of Serbia or the Heart of Šumadija. The region consists of two sub-regions, Upper Gruža (with ) and Lower Gruža (). They are divided by the narrowing known as Tucački Naper. The location was dammed and the artificial Gruža Lake was formed. The reservoir contains of water and covers an area of , thus permanently flooding a part of the Knić Field. The water is used for the waterworks of Kragujevac. Other rivers in the region, tributaries to the Gruža river, are mostly short: Kamenička Reka (), Boračka Reka (), and Ribež (). The southern section of the region, in direction of

West Morava West Morava (, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184-km long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity. Origin The West Morava originates in the Tašti field, east of the town o ...

, is a composite valley, cut between the mountains of Kotlenik and Gledičke. This section is called the Guberevac Trench.

Characteristics

The region is very fertile and thus almost exclusively an agricultural area. Even though populated by many villages (58 or 61 settlements), they all have small population and are increasingly depopulating, despite the land's fertility. In the

Knić Knić () is a village and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. According to 2022 census, the population of the town is 1,942, while population of the municipality is 11,729. History Rocky hills above the village of ...

section, population fell from 28,380 in 1948 (69 inhabitants per km²) to 11,729 in 2022 (28 inhabitants per km²), as previously well developed industries in the nearby towns of

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 23,109, while the population of the municipality is 38,985 (2022 census data). ...

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

and

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, 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 Se ...

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, peaked at 215 inhabitants per km² in 2011. The settlements are mostly dispersed, and the center of the region is the municipal seat of

, located west from the Gruža river. The Gruža river valley in the center of the region is the route for the regional Kragujevac-Kraljevo road and railway, which, with the additional road connection to Gornji Milanovac, makes the region generally well connected to the other parts of Serbia.

Culture

''Lepe li su nano Gružanke devojke'' (Oh, mom, girls from Gruža are beautiful) is a popular folk song, written by Dragiša Nedović.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruza Geographical regions of Serbia Geography of Šumadija and Western Serbia Šumadija