Vuča Žikić ( sr-Cyrl, Вуча Жикић, mid-18th century – 14 April 1808), known as Captain Žika,Milićević 1888, p. 641 was an important figure in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

. He was the founder, builder and commander of Deligrad fortification.

Life

As a young man Žikić left his native Mavrovo and came to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

where he worked as an innkeeper and a sheep herdsman. Already in 1787, he was conspiring with

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

spies to open the gates of the Water Gate of

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava, Hungarian: Nándorfehérvár), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of th ...

to Austrian soldiers.Atlagić 2004 In the Austrian-Ottoman war of 1788-1791 he joined the

Serbian Free Corps The Serbian Free Corps (), known simply as ''frajkori'' ( sr-cyr, фрајкори), was a volunteer militia composed of ethnic Serbs, established by the Habsburg monarchy, to fight the Ottoman Empire during the Austro-Turkish War (1787–1791). T ...

unit of Mihaljević and distinguished himself earning the rank of captain. After the war he escaped to

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

and lived in the village of

Boljevci Boljevci ( sr-cyr, Бољевци, ()) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Surčin. Location Boljevci is located on the left bank of the Sava river, in the south-central part of the municipali ...

. He later took part in the Austrian-French war. Despite the fact that he built his career in Austrian service, after the start of the

in 1804, Žikić immediately returned to Serbia. He is credited for establishing the Deligrad fortification (together with

Petar Dobrnjac Petar Teodorović ( sr-cyr, Петар Теодоровић; 1771–1831), known as Petar Dobrnjac (Петар Добрњац) was a Serbian Vojvoda in the First Serbian Uprising. He was born in the Požarevac nahija, in the village of Dobrnje, ...

, his commander), in 1806. As an experienced officer with some talent for building, Žikić turned Deligrad into the strongest defensive point in the Morava valley. Žikić is also supposed to have given it the name. He commanded the troops stationed in the fortification, mostly from

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 ...

and

Leskovac Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...

until his deathС. Новаковић, ''Васкрс државе српске'', стр. 64 On

Easter Friday Easter Friday, or Bright Friday, is the sixth day in the Christian season of Eastertide. At times, this name has been confused with Good Friday,For example, the songEaster Friday" by Simone Richardson, 2006. Published by Emu Music. which fal ...

in 1808 the Turks launched a sneak attack on Deligrad. The attack was repulsed but Žikić was mortally wounded. He was taken to the nearby Monastery of St. Roman where he died on

Easter Day Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the N ...

. That is also where he was buried. His position in Deligrad was taken by his nephew Kuzman, son of his brother Anko.

Family

Žikić married twice. From his first marriage he had three sons – Ilija, Anko and Miloš. From the second one he had sons Vučo and Damijan.

Annotations

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zikic, Vuca 18th-century Serbian people 19th-century Serbian people People of the First Serbian Uprising Habsburg Serbs People from Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality Serbs of North Macedonia 18th-century births Year of birth unknown 1808 deaths 18th-century Freikorps Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Serbian revolutionaries

Life

Family

Annotations

See also

References

Sources