History & Heritage

Gornji Milanovac

The Takovo town in the Rudnik foothills — where the Second Uprising began, wrapped in the cleanest air in Šumadija.

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COUNTRY: Serbia
REGION: Šumadija & Western Serbia
BEST TIME TO VISIT: April–June (the uprising anniversary in April) and September–October
DURATION: Half to 1 day

ABOUT THE DESTINATION

Gornji Milanovac is the town of Takovo: on Palm Sunday 1815, Miloš Obrenović raised the Second Serbian Uprising on this hillside — the rising that won Serbia its state. The town below (founded 1853, named for the prince’s brother) keeps the memory in its museum and the Takovo monuments, while the Rudnik foothills around it — the beech forests, the ethno villages, the cleanest air in Šumadija — make it the region’s quietest base. Between Topola’s Oplenac and the Zapadna Morava valley, it is Šumadija’s understated middle.

MAP & LOCATION

Gornji Milanovac

THROUGH THE LENS

From the road

HISTORY & CULTURE

The Story Behind the Place

The Second Uprising began at Takovo on Palm Sunday (11 April 1815), when Miloš Obrenović raised the standard against the Ottomans — the rising that, through diplomacy and victory (the Battle of Ljubić), won Serbia autonomy by 1830. The town was founded in 1853 as the district centre and named for Miloš’s brother Milan (Obrenovac was taken; Gornji Milanovac stuck). Through the 19th century it was the Šumadija administrative town; the Rudnik slopes kept it small and green. The Takovo bush (the “Takovo grm”) under which Miloš rallied the knezes is the town’s symbol — replanted, memorialized, visited.

TOP THINGS TO DO

Experiences Not to Miss

THINGS TO DO

The two uprisings day — Takovo and Oplenac

The Second Uprising’s Takovo in the morning, the royal mausoleum of Oplenac in the afternoon — the two Serbias of the 19th century, 40 minutes apart.

TOP ATTRACTIONS

Sights & Highlights of Gornji Milanovac

ATTRACTIONS

Takovo — the Second Uprising’s ground

The village where Miloš Obrenović raised the Second Serbian Uprising on Palm Sunday 1815 — the memorial church, the monument and the museum’s Takovo room.

ATTRACTIONS