Kragujevac (Serbian Cyrillic: Крагујевац, pronounced [krǎɡujeʋats] ⓘ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District.

Dugouts dated to 5,000 BC have been found in the city's vicinity, in the localities of Grivac, Kusovac, Divostin, Donje Grbice and Dobrovodica.

[6] At the time of Roman conquest in 9 AD, the territory of the present-day city was largely inhabited by Illyrians (mainly the Dardani) and Celts (the Scordisci).

[5] By the late 6th and early 7th centuries, large-scale Slavic raids and settlement began, along with invasions from Hunnic and Germanic tribes.

With the weakening of both the Bulgarian and Eastern Roman empires, Stefan Nemanja, Grand Prince of the consolidated medieval Serbian state, captured the territory between 1198 and 1199.

Although it is hypothesized that the current area of the city was densely settled by the time of Stefan Nemanja's conquest, it does not appear in medieval Serbian documents.

[5][8] In spite of its newfound consolidation under Turkish rule, the town's location in strategic borderland between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire made it an area of frequent conflict in the modern era.

Soon after, in 1718, Kragujevac became a part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia following conquest by Prince Eugene of Savoy and the signing of Treaty of Passarowitz.

As one of the districts lying right on the Ottoman border, moreover, it was controlled by an uskok company (of the fourteen that guarded the frontier) and found itself under military jurisdiction.

[9] In other parts of Habsburg ruled Kingdom of Serbia similar cases followed after which the Serbian word vampir entered German and later other world languages.

[5][11] As a settlement central to the Sanjak of Smederevo under Ottoman rule, Kragujevac was of utmost strategic importance to its agitating, largely rural Serb inhabitants.

[citation needed] In 1818, Kragujevac, though largely depopulated following the conflicts of the preceding centuries, was proclaimed capital of the Principality of Serbia on 6 May 1818 by Miloš Obrenović in the medieval Vraćevšnica monastery.

[12] The first institutions of the Principality of Serbia were founded in Kragujevac including the first courthouse, First gymnasium (grammar school) and the Princely Serbian theatre.

Colloquially styled the 'Knez's arsenal', its first director, Charles Loubry, was a French engineer authorized to take over this duty by the Emperor of France, Napoleon III.

To connect the city's burgeoning military industry as well as its production of iron ploughs to the rest of Serbia's regions, the Belgrade–Niš railroad was built in 1886.

To serve its industrial population, Serbia's first grammar school (gimnazija), the city's first pharmacy, and its first cinema, located in a local kafana, were all built during the remainder of the 19th century, along with Kragujevac's Great (or Upper) Park and, in 1891, its first regulatory urban plan.

[13] Today, the beginnings of the town's industry, the now-defunct VTZ, have been recognized by the Serbian government as vital to Serbia's cultural heritage and, as of 2017, consists of 151 individual objects, of which 31 are protected as unique heritage, including the old foundry, the machine workshop, the chimney, the fire lookout tower, the railroad bridge over the Lepenica River, and the cartridge factory.

[13] During World War I, Kragujevac again became the capital of Serbia (1914–1915), and the seat of many state institutions—the Supreme Army Command was housed within the courthouse building.

The city's industry greatly suffered under international economic sanctions during the Milošević era in the 1990s, and some parts were reduced to rubble in the 1999 NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia.

The city covers an area of 835 square kilometres (322 sq mi), surrounded by the slopes of the Rudnik, Crni Vrh, and Gledić mountains.

Historically, Ottoman (nowadays almost completely gone) and 19th century Vienna Secession style architecture have played an important role in the city's landscape.

It is covered with more than 10 hectares (25 acres) of greenery, and a dense canopy of century-old trees, renovated walkways and benches are the right place for rest, walk and relaxation.

In the park and its immediate vicinity there are sports facilities for basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

The curiosity in the park is the largest sculpture of Easter eggs (3 metres (10 ft) high) in Europe and the second in the world; made from recycled metal, set in 2004.

[31] Scenic attractions nearby include the Aranđelovac, Gornji Milanovac, Vrnjačka Banja, and Mataruška Banja, Karađorđe's castle, the Church of Saint George in Topola 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, the Old Kalenić monastery 55 kilometres (34 miles) away, the resorts of Rogot (28 km (17 mi)) and Stragari (34 km (21 mi)) with the old Blagoveštenje and Voljavča monasteries.

Weapons manufacturing in Kragujevac began with foundation of the VTZ in 1853 and has since grown to become Serbia's primary supplier of firearms through the Zastava Arms corporation.

[citation needed] Rapp Marine Group (components for ships, oil platforms and machines), Meggle AG (dairy products), Unior Components (broaches, welded construction, thermal treatment), Metro Cash and Carry, Mercator and Plaza centres (retail) established their operations in Kragujevac.

[51] The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):[52] There are 22 primary and 8 secondary schools in Kragujevac.

It is the fourth largest university in Serbia and is organized into 12 faculties and two institutes which are spread over six nearby cities (Kragujevac, Čačak, Kraljevo, Užice, Jagodina and Vrnjačka Banja).

The largest and most important sports association in Kragujevac is Radnički, which brings together 19 clubs: football, athletics, volleyball, handball, boxing, wrestling etc.