Food & History

Leskovac

The grill capital of Serbia — the birthplace of the pljeskavica, the Hisar hill and the Roštiljijada festival.

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COUNTRY: Serbia
REGION: Southern & Eastern Serbia
BEST TIME TO VISIT: September for the Roštiljijada (the town’s great week)
DURATION: Half day

ABOUT THE DESTINATION

Leskovac is the town that taught Serbia to grill: the pljeskavica (the “Leskovac hamburger”) was born here, the ajvar is roasted here in October by the tonne, and the September Roštiljijada — the grill festival that closes the town’s main street — is the country’s biggest food party. Around the food lies a real town: the Široka čaršija’s 19th-century trades, the Hisar hill’s park and fortress remains, and the textile-industry story (“Serbian Manchester”) that made the town rich before the grill made it famous.

MAP & LOCATION

Leskovac

THROUGH THE LENS

From the road

HISTORY & CULTURE

The Story Behind the Place

Leskovac grew as the Ottoman-era crafts and trade town of the Veternica-Morava confluence; the 19th century added the textile mills — “Serbian Manchester”, the biggest in the Balkans before WWII. The grill tradition is the town’s deeper fame: the pljeskavica’s original recipe, the ajvar roasting of October, the “Leskovac grill” as a national byword. The Roštiljijada (from 1989) closes the main street every September — the biggest grill festival in the region. The Hisar hill keeps the town’s oldest layer (the fortress remains and the park).

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