Lajkovac ( sr-cyr, Лајковац) is a town and municipality located in the
Kolubara District
The Kolubara District ( sr, / , ) is one of eight administrative districts of Šumadija and Western Serbia. It occupies the central part of western Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it has a population of 174,513 inhabitants. The a ...
of western Serbia. As of 2011, it has population of 3,249 inhabitants, while the municipality has 15,475 inhabitants.
It is located in the valley of river Kolubara and near the
Ibar highway
State Road 22, commonly known as Ibar Highway ( sr, Ибарска магистрала, Ibarska magistrala), is an IB-class road, connecting Belgrade with Šumadija and Western Serbia and finally with Montenegro at Špiljani border crossing.
It ...
.
History
In the surrounding villages of Jabučje, Skobalj, Nepričava and Bogovađa there are remains from the
Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. At Ćelije there is an archaeological locality , also from the Roman times, with the well preserved Roman villa and a major estate around it. Anine is located from the confluence of the Ljig river into the Kolubara. There are also artifacts and monuments from the Serbian medieval period,
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...
World Wars
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
, especially
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
as the major
Battle of Kolubara
The Battle of Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубарска битка, german: Schlacht an der Kolubara) was fought between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of World War I.
It commenced on 16 ...
against the invading Austro-Hungarian army was fought in the area in November-December 1914.
The town was heavily flooded by the Kolubara river. In July 1926 the water destroyed the entire agricultural output, also flooding the railway. The area was also damaged during the catastrophic 2014 Southeast Europe floods.
Stepanje
Stepanje is a village situated in Lajkovac
Lajkovac ( sr-cyr, Лајковац) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. As of 2011, it has population of 3,249 inhabitants, while the municipality has 15,475 ...
According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Lajkovac has 15,475 inhabitants.
Ethnic groups
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
Economy and infrastructure
Unlike the past, when the railway was the leading employer in the area, most of Lajkovac inhabitants today work at surface pits of the Kolubara coal basin, that stretch on the municipal areas of Lajkovac, Lazarevac and Ub. Other major industries include
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
(especially
dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
and
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
manufacturing.
Thanks to the surface mining, Lajkovac is usually among the municipalities with the highest
average wage
The national average salary (or national average wage) is the mean salary for the working population of a nation. It is calculated by summing
Summing (April 16, 1978 – October 10, 2008) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire.
Ba ...
and
employment
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...
figures in Serbia.
Tourist spots in the town and its vicinity include the Bogovađa Monastery and the memorial Saint George's Church in the village of Ćelije.
Lajkovac was well known for its watermills (Serbian: ''vodenica''). There are several still operational in 2018 though they are mostly a tourist attractions today. The most popular are ''Jolića vodenica'', ''Kumova vodenica'', ''Ilića vodenica'' and ''Sretenovića vodenica''. ''Jolića vodenica'' is location of an annual folk festival ''Hajdučki rastanak''.
The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):
Railway significance
The first railway line to pass through Lajkovac was a 760-millimeter ( Bosnian gauge) line from
Obrenovac
Obrenovac ( sr-cyr, Обреновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 71,419 inhabitants, while the urban area has 24,568 inhabitants.
The largest Serbian th ...
to Valjevo which became operational on 14 September 1908. Two years later, Lajkovac got another line to
Mladenovac
Mladenovac ( sr-cyr, Младеновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 53,050 inhabitants, while the urban area has 23,314 inhabitants.
Name
Its name stems ...
. Just before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the Serbian government started construction of line to
Čačak
Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley within the geographical region of Šumadija. , the city proper has 73,331 inhabitants, wh ...
, but the early war operations halted the development. In 1914,
Dual Monarchy
Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically use ...
army stormed the city and destroyed much of the infrastructure; shortly afterwards, however the same force continued construction of a line to Čačak. After the end of the war in 1921, Čačak line was completed, connecting Lajkovac with Sarajevo and the Adriatic seaports of
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...
and
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 ...
. In 1928, the Obrenovac line was extended to Belgrade, which promoted the town into a railway hub of major importance.
The lots around the railway were quickly urbanized and mostly turned into the ''
kafana
Kafana is a distinct type of local bistro (or tavern), common in former Yugoslav countries and Albania, which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee, and often also light snacks (''meze'') and other food. Many kafanas feature live music ...
s''. In the late 1930s there were 11 ''kafanas'' in Lajkovac, as people had to make connections in Lajkovac since it was a crossroad from all four sides (Belgrade, Aranđelovac, Mladenovac, Sarajevo). Especially popular was the ''Železnička restoracija'' ("Railway restaurant"), which is still operation as of March 2018. Among notable frequent guests were politician Mehmed Spaho and mathematician Mika Petrović Alas. The town prospered greatly becoming a major railway crossroads and this period is today considered as the Lajkovac's "Golden Age". There were 41 railway tracks in town itself, with one train arriving every 10 minutes. At one point, there were 1,500 railwaymen working on a railroad. The first train using the
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...
reached Lajkovac on 7 July 1968. The decline of the
narrow-gauge network in 1960s led to a decision that all narrow-gauge lines should cease operation during the 1970s. At the same time, the Belgrade-Bar standard gauge line passed through Lajkovac.
Much of the narrow-gauge infrastructure remains in the town today, such as a
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...
(nicknamed ''Buzometar''),
turntable
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
, roundhouse and many rolling stock sheds. All that infrastructure except for the water tower still serves standard-gauge locomotive stock. There are plans to convert these facilities into a railway museum.
Trivia
The traditional song ''Ide Mile Lajkovačkom prugom'' (Mile walks down the Lajkovac railway) is about the town; it is a staple of Serbian folk repertoire, with versions recorded by Tozovac, Lepa Lukić,
Šaban Šaulić
Šaban Šaulić ( sr-cyr, Шабан Шаулић; 6 September 1951 – 17 February 2019) was a Serbian folk singer. Renowned for his refined baritone vocals and performances characterised by emotional intensity and crowd interaction, his career ...
, Braća Bajić and many others.
Gallery
File:Lajkovac, Crkva Svetog Dimitrija, 26.JPG, ''Orthodox Church in Lajkovac''
File:Манастир Боговађа.jpg, ''Monastery Bogovađa''
File:Lajkovac, Zgrada železničke stanice Lajkovac, 02.JPG, ''Lajkovac Railway Station building''
File:Narrow-Gauge-Railway Ostbahn-Extension Station-Lajkovac.jpg, ''Lajkovac Railway Station in 1965''
File:Lajkovac, Autobuska stanica, 01.jpg, ''Lajkovac Bus Station''
File:Lajkovac 05.jpg, ''Lajkovac Sports Hall''