Lazar Kujundžić-Klempa ( sr-cyr, Лазар Кујунџић: 1880 – May 25, 1905) was a Serbian Chetnik commander (vojvoda) who was active in

Old Serbia Old Serbia () is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the Serbian Empire in 1346–71. The term does ...

and Macedonia.

Biography

He was born in

Orahovac, Kosovo Rahovec ( sq-definite, Rahoveci) or Orahovac ( sr-Cyrl, Ораховац), is a town and municipality located in the District of Gjakova in western Kosovo. According to the 2024 census, the town of Rahovec has 13,642 inhabitants, while the munici ...

, near

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

. He graduated from a teacher's college at the Orthodox seminary in

. He was a teacher in Prizren and Kičevo. He participated in the

Fight on Čelopek Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

when the Chetniks destroyed the Turkish forces. After the fight, he did not want to flee into Serbia but continued to operate in Ottoman-occupied

with commanders

Savatije Milošević Savatije Milošević ( sr-cyr, Саватије Милошевић; 1876 – 1905), known as Vojvoda Savatije, was a Serbian hajduk and Chetnik commander. Life Early life Savatije Miličević Milošević (Саватије Миличевић Ми� ...

and

Živojin Milovanović Živojin Milovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Живојин Миловановић; January 23, 1884 — May 25, 1905), known by his nickname Žika, was a Serbian soldier, member of the Serbian revolutionary Chetnik Organization that fought in Old Serbia an ...

. On the

Feast of the Ascension The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...

, his band appeared in

Velika Hoča Velika (Cyrillic: Велика; "great" (fem.) in South Slavic) may refer to: Places * Velika (bishopric), a medieval bishopric associated with Clement of Ohrid * Velika, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a village in Derventa * Velika, Bulgaria, a village ...

. They were received by Albanian Lanja Ukin who had given them his word ( besa) that nothing would happen to them in his house, however, he immediately alarmed the Turks in Orahovac who surrounded them. They set the house on fire. The Chetniks shot back and sung Chetnik songs. The Turks brought Lazar's mother to recognize him for them, but she did not, in order to save her village and family. During the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, he was hailed as a great hero.

In Serbian Literature

The heroic deaths of Kujundžić and Milošević inspired

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rh ...

to write a poem "At Gazi Mestan", and the stoic comportment of Lazar's mother moved Serbian Catholic

Ivo Vojnović Ivo Vojnović (9 October 1857 – 30 August 1929) was a writer from Dubrovnik. Biography Vojnović was born in Dubrovnik as the first son of Count Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) and Maria de Serragli (1836–1922) on 9 October 1857 in D ...

to write a play called "The Resurrection of Lazar" (''Lazarevo Vaskrsenje'') in 1913. Another poet and veteran Chetnik

Milosav Jelić Milosav Jelić (Skobalj (Smederevo), Kingdom of Serbia, 13 March 1883 – Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 6 July 1947) was a Serbian chetnik active in Old Serbia and North Macedonia, Macedonia. He was also a writer, war poet and one of the leading Belgrade j ...

dedicated a poem to Lazar Kujunžić's mother -- ''Majka Kujundžića'' -- in his collection of poems, ''Srpski vijenac'' (Serbian Garland).

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kujundzic, Lazar 1880 births 1905 deaths 20th-century Serbian people Serbian military leaders Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Kosovo Serbs People from Rahovec People from Kosovo vilayet Chetniks of the Macedonian Struggle

Biography

In Serbian Literature

See also

References

Sources