Kruševac

Kruševac was the seat of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović in the second half of the fourteenth century, and the surviving fragment of that period is Lazarica, the court church he built around 1377 in the Morava style: a compact building in alternating bands of stone and brick with carved rosettes and window frames, one of the earliest and most complete examples of the school. Around it are the excavated foundations and a surviving tower of the fortress, and the town's museum and art gallery sit in the same park. Kruševac occupies a central place in Serbian historical memory because of Lazar, and monuments and a large sculpture group in the park reflect that. The town otherwise is a working regional centre.

History

Prince Lazar founded the fortified town in 1371 as his seat and built the Lazarica Church in 1375-1378 in the Morava style; the name comes from krušac, the river stone widely used for building. A large monument to the Serbs who fell at Kosovo, by Đorđe Jovanović, was unveiled in 1904 (Wikipedia, Kruševac).

What you'll find

• Lazarica church - the 1370s court church in banded stone and brick.
• Fortress remains - the excavated foundations and the surviving tower.
• Carved stonework - rosettes and window frames of the Morava school.
• The park monuments - sculpture commemorating the medieval period.

When to go

April to October for walking the park and the old town. The museum closes on Mondays. Vidovdan in late June brings commemorations and crowds.

Good to know

Very little of the medieval town survives beyond the church and the tower. The modern town around it is unremarkable. Interpretation is largely in Serbian. It is a half-day stop rather than a destination, usually combined with monasteries nearby.

Nearby

Ljubostinja lies west; Kalenić is northwest.

Key facts