Media Center Aleksinac Holy Trinity Church, Gornji Adrovac Telenet City Network | Serbia Phone: +38164 5558581; +38161 6154768; www.booking-hotels.biz [email protected] Holy Trinity Church, Gornji Adrovac Crkva Sv. Trojice u Gornjem Adrovcu, ili popularno nazvana Ruska crkva, jedinstvena je u mnogo cemu i razlicita od slicnih objekata u ovom kraju. Jedinstvena je po svojoj lokaciji, arhitekturi, istoriji i po legendama koje je okruzuju. Crkva dominira predterenom bas kao sto je u ratu dominirala sa tog mesta stpska baterija. Sa platoa na kome se nalazi crkva vidi se dolina Morave kao i planine s druge strane na koje se te daleke 1876. godine oslanjao srpski Moravski front. Oblozena crvenim i zuckastim keramickim plocicama, crkva ima neuobicajeno zivopisni izgled. Okruzena drvecem sa svih strana, crkva kao da je zaklonjena od radoznalih pogleda s puta koji prolazi na stotinak metara. Od puta do crkve vodi aleja oivicena borovima i lipama - starim slovenskom kultnim drvecem. U porti crkve, pored pomenutog spomenika pukovnika Rajevskog, nalaze se i spomenici preminulih paroha ove crkve. Nedaleko od crkve stoje rusevine nekadasnjeg zdanja, po nekim podacima spomen - skole ili parohijskog doma. I sama crkva dugo je bila izlozena zubu vremena, ali i, sto je jos teze, nemaru okoline. Crkva je stavljena pod zastitu drzave, a od nedavno je postala metoh manastira Sveti Roman u selu Praskovcu, opstina Razanj. Malo planinsko selo Gornji Adrovac u Aleksinackoj opstini ne bi se razlikovalo od slicnih sela u brdsko - planinskom podrucju da na svojoj periferiji nema izuzetan i umnogome jedinstveni spomenik srpske proslosti - Crkvu Sv. Trojice, poznatiju u narodu ovoga kraja kao Ruska crkva ili Crkva Rajevskog. Ovaj sakralni objekat, podignut pocetkom ovog veka umnogome se razlikuje od drugih crkava na ovom terenu. Ova je crkva podignuta u spomen na jednu izuzetnu licnost, ruskog pukovnika i srpskog dobrovoljca, Nikolaja Nikolajevica Rajevskog, koji je kao ucesnik bojeva u Srpsko - turskom ratu poginuo na ovom mestu 1. septembra (20. avgusta) 1876. godine. Te daleke 1876. godine mala i jos uvek vazalna knezevina Srbija objavila je rat svom sizerenu, velikoj i jos uvek mocnoj Otomanskoj imperiji. Srbija je u ovaj rat usla rukovodjena najplemenitijim pobudama - da oslobodi srpski narod koji je jos uvek bio pod turskim ropstvom. No, plemeniti ciljevi i rodoljubivi zanos nisu bili dovoljni za uspesno vodjenje rata. Rat je oduvek bio avantura sa nesagledivim posledicama. Aleksinac Serbia Aleksinac is first mentioned in 2005 in "Krusevacki Tefter", a list of towns and it's residents made by Turks to keep an eye on taxes, as the village belonging to Bolvan province and Krusevac sanjak. It remained village up to the end of XVI century when it was developed into town settlement. In the middle of XVII century, Aleksinac was town with more than 100 shops in it, and because of it's strategic location on the road to Constantinople it became important travel and caravan station. It's importance can be supported by the fact that Turks built fortress to protect it from outlaws in 1616. The development of Aleksinac was page 1 / 4 stopped during the so-called Great Turkish War [1683-1699]. Aleksinac was conquered by Austrian army [general Ludwig of Baden liberated it], and later burned to the ground by the soldiers of Jegen-Osman Pasha. Serbian inhabitants of Aleksinac joined Great Serb Migrations to Habsburg Monarchy and some of them settled down in Budim. Aleksinac was destroyed again by fire during second Austro-Turkish war [1716-1718] when grand vizier Hallil Pasha was defeated beneath the walls of Belgrade. In retreat he burned down all settlements all the way to Nis. After the third Austro-Turkish War [1737-1739] Aleksinac developed into significant trade and handcraft centre. Many caravans passed through it exchanging wares from entire Ottoman Empire and central Europe. At the same time it became centre of Aleksinac county which in 1784 consisted of 17 villages. There were 160 houses in Aleksinac at that time, 120 Serbian and 40 Turkish. After the Fourth Austro-Turkish war Aleksinac was burned down again by the Turkish outlaws led by Osman Pazvan. Aleksinac and it's surrounding joined the First Serbian Uprising in January 1806. The army of Petar Dobrnjac liberated Town itself and villages facing the right side of South Morava River while Mladen Milovanovic and Stanoje Glavas liberated the settlements on the left side. As soon as the town was liberated, captain Vuca Zikic built the famous Deligrad trenches on the north side of Aleksinac which earned fame in battles with the Turks, especially in 1806. After the fall on the First Serbian Uprising Aleksinac remained under Turkish rule up to December 1832 when it became integral part of Prince Milos's Serbia. During his first reign Aleksinac became economic centre of the south-east Serbia with numerous trade and handicrafts shops and it developed into important governemnt centre. It became centre of county and county court. The third post office in Serbia [after Belgrade and Kragujevac] was opened in Aleksinac for both Serbian and Austrian post as well as the place where English courier sent and received the post from Turkey. At that time Customs office and quarantine station were built in Aleksinac. Aleksinac was also the site of major battles with Turks in First Serbo-Turkish war in 1876, with only true victory won on Sumatovac, 3 kilometers from Aleksinac. Main industry in Aleksinac is metal industry, but large parts of municipality consists of arable land near the Morava river that is used for grain, maize ?nd peppers. Coal industry was also dominant before fire accident in November 1989. Municipality of Aleksinac is rich in natural resources, especially in black coal, bitumen schist, gravel, sand and limestone. Town has two elementary schools, High [Grammar] School "Aleksinacka gimnazija" [The former name was "Drakce Milovanovic" but it was changed in 2004], college for kindergarten teachers, machine engineering high school and couple of technical schools. The construction of building for Agricultural high school has started in 2006. There are two elementary schools: "Ljupce Nikolic" and "Vozd Karadjordje" [Former name "Aca Milojevic", changned by new govornment in 2003 in process of deminishing war heroes, by new school principal Milan Veljkovic]. Aleksinac have a school for kids with special needs. If you visit Aleksinac, you should visit lake Bovan, 15 km away, and medieval monastery from XV century built by Despot Stefan Lazarevic, St. Stefan in Lipovac, 25 km away. The monastery is built beneath the slopes of Mt. Ozren [1175 m]. There are also remnants of two medieval towns in the mountains surrounding Aleksinac: Bovan and Lipovac, however they are not well preserved. Nightlife in Aleksinac is very developed. People should visit Pelivan, an ice cream master of Kemal Musa. Serbia Serbia has connected West with East for centuries a land in which civilisations, cultures, faiths, climates and landscapes meet and mingle. It is located in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula, in southeastern Europe. The northern portion belongs to central Europe, but in terms of geography and climate it is also partly a Mediterranean country. Serbia is landlocked but as a Danube country it is connected to distant seas and oceans. Serbia is a crossroads of Europe and a geopolitically important territory. The international roads and railway lines, which run through the countrys river valleys, form the shortest link between Western Europe and the Middle East. From the agricultural regions of the Pannonian Plain in the north, across the fertile river valleys and orchard-covered hills of umadija, the landscape of Serbia continues southward, gradually giving way to mountains rich in canyons, gorges and caves, as well as well-preserved forests. Serbias beautiful mountains, national parks, rivers and lakes are the perfect location for an active outdoor holiday from hunting and fishing to extreme sports. Many times during its rich, centuries-long history, Serbia has been at the centre of Europes and the worlds attention, out of all proportion to its modest size, economic might and number of inhabitants. Many lessons on bravery, patriotism and the struggle for freedom can be learned wherever you turn in Serbia, as you pass through its cities and regions. The cultural and historical heritage of Serbia begins with prehistoric archaeological sites and its legacy from classical antiquity. Perhaps its greatest riches, though, are in the many mediaeval Serbian churches and monasteries, some of which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. All year round, numerous cultural, entertainment, traditional and sporting events are held in Serbia, demonstrating the creative power and spiritual vitality of this country. Today, Serbia is a modern, democratic European country, on the path to membership of the European Union, which a diverse range of visitors from young backpackers to participants in congresses and fairs visit every day. Statistically, the most-visited tourist destinations are the cities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, the mountains of Kopaonik and Zlatibor and the spa towns of Vrnja?ka Banja and Sokobanja. page 2 / 4 The northern part of Serbia, Vojvodina, located in the Pannonian Plain, is predominately flat. There are also plains in Ma?va, Posavina, Pomoravlje and Stig, as well as in Negotinska Krajina in eastern Serbia. 55% of Serbias land is arable, the large part of which is located in Vojvodina, the countrys main agricultural region. The central part of Serbia and the hilly umadija region are located south of the Sava and Danube rivers. Further south, the hills gradually give way to mountains. The valleys of the Great, South and West Morava, Niava and Ibra rivers cut through the hilly and mountainous areas of Serbia and are the main travel routes. The forest coverage in Serbia is 27.3% in total and regional coverage varies: Vojvodina 6.8%, central Serbia 32.8% and Kosovo and Metohija 39.4%.