Ljig ( sr-cyr, Љиг) is a town and municipality located in the

Kolubara District The Kolubara District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It occupies the central part of western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 154,497 inhabitants. The administrative center of the Kolubara Distric ...

of western Serbia. It has a population of 2,938 inhabitants, while the municipality has a total of 10,711 inhabitants. It is surrounded by Mount Rajac and Mount Rudnik.

History

The recorded history of the Ljig settlement itself begins in 1911, when a railroad was built between Lajkovac and

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). ...

. The area, however, has a long history. The Dići church was founded by Serbian nobleman Vlgdrag, who was buried here in 1327. The ruins of the medieval Vavedenje Monastery include impressive

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

dating from the 15th century, believed to belong to the Serbian despots Stefan Branković and Đurađ Branković. According to legend, Djuradj's wife, Jerina, was buried there as well. An early reference to "Ljig" can be found in the 17th century records of

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

, which describe "LIGmehri" (the Ljig River) rising from Kara Dag in the village Baht (today's Ba) and flowing into the Kolubara River near

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

. No settlement in the area was known to the Austrians when they occupied Serbia from 1717 to 1739. By 1818, however, the nearby settlement Gukosi had grown to 50 homes. A railway station was built in 1917 near the present-day center of Ljig. This lower area under the Gukoši hill includes a small settlement with a municipal court, school, inn, two stores, two textile mills, three tailors and several houses, and when still part of Gukoši had been referred to as the area "on the Ljig River." During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Battle of Kolubara was fought nearby, making this area significant in history of Serbia and of war, and in military science. A monument memorializing the battle has been erected on Rajac Mountain. Ljig separated from Gukoši in 1922, and by 1930 a school, health center and church were built. Prior to that time, Ljig residents had worshipped in Moravci.

Settlements

The town of Ljig is the economic and cultural center of the municipality with a primary school founded in 1907, a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, a public library with a cinema, a health center and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

. Aside from the town of Ljig, the following settlements are part of municipality of Ljig: * Ivanovci * Kozelj * Lalinci * Veliševac * Babajić * Ba * Kadina Luka * Kalanjevci * Jajčić * Liplje * Moravci * Štavica * Gukoš * Milavac * Brančić * Poljanice * Latković * Slavkovica * Paležnica * Belanovica * Bošnjanović * Donji Banjani * Dići * Cvetanovac *

Živkovci Živkovci is a village situated in Ljig municipality in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

* Šutci

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Ljig has 12,754 inhabitants.

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):

Gallery

File:Ljig, Crkva Svetog Jovana, 04.jpg, ''Church of St. Jovan'' File:Ljig, Centar mesta, 01.jpg, ''Ljig town center'' File:Ljig, Dečja biblioteka, 01.jpg, ''Ljig Children Library'' File:Ljig, Gradska biblioteka, 01.jpg, ''Ljig Library'' File:Ljig, Spomenik ljiškoj borbi, 01.jpg, ''Monument to the battle in Ljig'' File:Ljig, Srednja škola 1300 kaplara, 16.JPG, ''High School in Ljig'' File:Predeo narocite prirodne lepote Rajac (2).jpg, ''Rajac paragliding'' File:Predeo narocite prirodne lepote Rajac (3).jpg, ''Rajac annual Mowing'' File:Cvetanovac 003.jpg, ''Cvetanovac Forrest''

Notes and references

;Notes
"Plum brandy, the Internet and the world"
European Agency for Reconstruction press release on Ljig
2002 Serbian National Census
;References

External links

* {{Kolubara District Populated places in Kolubara District Šumadija Municipalities and cities of Šumadija and Western Serbia