Kruševac

Kruševac stands near the West Morava, where Prince Lazar built a fortified court in the later fourteenth century. Within its walls he founded the church of Lazarica, an early example of the Morava style. The town became the centre of his realm, and in 1387 his charter confirmed trading privileges for merchants from Ragusa. Lazar gathered his forces at Kruševac before the battle of Kosovo in 1389. After his death, Princess Milica and their son Stefan governed from the town before Stefan moved his capital to Belgrade. The Ottomans eventually made Kruševac a district centre called Alacahisar. Austrian armies occupied it during the wars of 1688–90 and 1717–39, but Ottoman authority returned after each occupation.