Despotovac

Despotovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Деспотовац) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is 130 kilometers southeast of Belgrade. Its name stems from Despot, a title of Serbian medieval prince Stefan Lazarević. As of 2022 census, the town has a total population of 3,595, while the municipality has a population of 18,278.

Despotovac Деспотовац (Serbian)
Town and municipality
Orthodox church in Despotovac
Flag Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Despotovac within Serbia
Coordinates: 44°05′N 21°26′E
Country	Serbia
Region	Šumadija and Western Serbia
District	Pomoravlje
Settlements	33
Government
• Mayor	Zlatko Marjanović (SNS)
Area [1]
• Municipality	623 km2 (241 sq mi)
Elevation	189 m (620 ft)
Population  (2022 census)[2]
• Town	3,595
• Municipality	18,278
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	35213
Area code	+381(0)35
Car plates	DE
Website	www.despotovac.rs

History

The Serb Orthodox monastery of Manasija was built between 1406^[3]-1418 and is one of the most significant monuments of Serbian culture, belonging to the "Resava school" (Serbian architecture)

From 1929 to 1941, Despotovac was part of the Morava Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Demographics

As of 2011 census results, the municipality had 22,995 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:^[4]

Ethnic group	Population	%
Serbs	21,602	93.15%
Vlachs	687	2.96%
Romani	244	1.05%
Romanians	38	0.16%
Montenegrins	21	0.09%
Macedonians	21	0.09%
Muslims	21	0.09%
Croats	20	0.09%
Albanians	18	0.08%
Yugoslavs	16	0.07%
Bulgarians	14	0.06%
Others	489	2.11%
Total	23,191

Settlements

Aside from the town of Despotovac, the municipality includes the following settlements:

• Balajnac
• Beljajka
• Bogava
• Brestovo
• Bukovac
• Despotovac (town)
• Vojnik
• Dvorište
• Grabovica
• Grčko Polje
• Jasenovo
• Jelovac
• Jezero
• Lipovica
• Lomnica
• Medveđa
• Miliva
• Panjevac
• Plažane
• Popovnjak
• Ravna Reka (mining town)
• Resavica (town)
• Resavica (village, also known as Dutovo)
• Senjski Rudnik (mining town)
• Sladaja
• Stenjevac
• Strmosten
• Trućevac
• Veliki Popović
• Vitance
• Vodna (mining settlement)
• Zlatovo
• Židilje

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	33,262	—
1953	36,509	+1.88%
1961	38,389	+0.63%
1971	36,553	−0.49%
1981	35,690	−0.24%
1991	33,869	−0.52%
2002	25,611	−2.51%
2011	23,191	−1.10%
2022	18,278	−2.14%
Source: [5]

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):^[6]

Activity	Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	105
Mining	1,299
Processing industry	391
Distribution of power, gas and water	35
Distribution of water and water waste management	71
Construction	120
Wholesale and retail, repair	518
Traffic, storage and communication	260
Hotels and restaurants	285
Media and telecommunications	26
Finance and insurance	33
Property stock and charter	5
Professional, scientific, innovative and technical activities	104
Administrative and other services	31
Administration and social assurance	261
Education	293
Healthcare and social work	338
Art, leisure and recreation	76
Other services	60
Total	4,311

Notable sites

Manasija

• Manasija monastery
• Resava Cave (Serbian: Resavska Pećina)
• Veliki buk waterfall in Lisine, in upper Resava valley.

See also

• List of places in Serbia