Topola

Topola (Топола, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. It was the place where Karađorđe, a Serbian revolutionary, was chosen as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1804. The local St. George Church is the burial place of the Ducal and Royal Family of Serbia and Yugoslavia (the Karađorđevićes).

The name Topola means poplar. Topola is famous for its yearly Oplenac vintage festival, attended by several thousand visitors each year.

Settlements
Aside from the town of Topola (5,422), the municipality includes the following settlements, according to 2002 census (population in brackets):


 * Belosavci (1017)
 * Blaznava (591)
 * Božurnja (672)
 * Donja Šatornja (800)
 * Donja Trešnjevica (304)
 * Donja Trnava (921)
 * Gornja Šatornja (558)
 * Gornja Trnava (1736)
 * Gorovič (319)
 * Guriševci (153)
 * Jarmenovci (563)
 * Jelenac (375)
 * Junkovac (945)
 * Kloka (1146)
 * Krćevac (775)
 * Lipovac (558)
 * Manojlovci (144)
 * Maskar (236)
 * Natalinci (834)
 * Ovsište (630)
 * Pavlovac (70)
 * Plaskovac (559)
 * Rajkovac (189)
 * Šume (595)
 * Svetlić (417)
 * Topola (village) (1363)
 * Vinča (1176)
 * Vojkovci (278)
 * Žabare (1016)
 * Zagorica (765)

History
The region was heavily settled after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, seen in the many medieval cemeteries in villages of Topola. Despot Stefan Lazarević died and was buried in the nearby Crkvine hamlet. On June 20, 1459, the city of Rudnik fell to the Ottomans, situated south of Topola. A hamlet was named Despotovica in memory of the fallen Serbian Despotate. The region was further settled with the great migration of Serbs in the 17th century.

The town was established in 1781, by Vožd Karageorge, on the right of the Kamenica (West Morava). The town was destroyed during the First Serbian Uprising, when Kučuk-Alija ravaged the Šumadija region in 1804, also burning down Karageorge's house. The renovation began in 1805, when the town was renewed as a fortified city; Karageorge built a new mansion on the ruins of his previous house, and several buildings surrounding, they were all protected with palisades and peep holes, making Topola a strategic settlement. With the successful revolts, Topola gains a political importance. The Vožd further expanded the town, from 1808 to 1813 he built large walls, towers, konaks, a school, a church and many other buildings. Topola became the centre of Revolutionary Serbia, where Karageorge was seated.

In 1814, just when the city was finished, the Ottomans tackle the Uprising and Topola was seriously damaged, only ruins were left. Aleksandar Karađorđević, the son of Karageorge, renewed the city and settled people in a higher degree, streets were built with nicer buildings and shops. With the comeback of the House of Obrenović in 1858, Topola saw further development.

<!-- TRANSLATE FROM SR WIKI: Tek što je završen Karađorđev grad propašću Prvog srpskog ustanka i Topola je teško postradala. Turci su porušili grad i građevine a od njih su ostali samo zidovi ruševine. Polet u razvoju Topole osetio se dolaskom na vlast Karađorđevog sina Aleksandra. Obnovio je očevu zadužbinu što je izazvalo jače naseljavanje pa se razvila čaršija sa obe strane druma Beograd-Kragujevac sa lepim zgradama i dućanima. Povratak Obrenovića na vlast 1858. god. se osetio i u Topoli i njenom daljem razvoju. Namesništvo koje je upravljalo u ime maloletnog Milana Obrenovića, a posle pogibije kneza Mihaila 1868. godine je Karađorđev grad kao državno vlasništvo ponudilo na javnu licitaciju. Narod iz okolnih sela i Topole je uspeo da sakupi novac i otkupio je Karađorđevu crkvu za svoju crkvenu opštinu. Karađorđev grad je i dalje propadao zapušten i prepušten sam sebi, i vremenu. Ostaci Karađorđevog grada u Topoli su te 1877. godine postali utočište pobunjenom drugom lepeničkom bataljonu. Topolska buna je unela dosta panike u redove obrenovićevaca, tim pre što se širila i vest o dolasku Petra Karađorđevića na presto. To je nateralo kneza Milana Obrenovića da na ministarskoj sednici 27. novembra 1877. donese ukaz o uvođenju vanrednog stanja u lepenički i jasenički srez. Doneta je odluka da se u Topolu uputi vojska pod koju su činile jedna četa pešadije iz Beograda i tri čete pešadije iz Smedereva, eskadron konjanika i topovska baterija. Vojska pod komandom pukovnika Jovanovića je brzo ugušila pobunu i već 29. novembra, u popodnevnim satima zauzela Topolu. Po naređenju pukovnika i uz blagoslov kneza Milana Obrenovića vojska je krenula da ruši ostatke Karađorđevog grada. Dolaskom na vlast kralja Petra I (1903.) Topola se počinje razvijati i dobijati sve veći značaj a već naredne godine varošica se odvaja od sela i postaje samostalna opština i trgovačko-zanatsko naselje.

Obnavljajući Topolu, Karađorđe je naročitu pažnju posvetio zidanju crkve Presvete Bogorodice. Kao osnivač dinastije, on je podigao sebi zadužbinu i u njoj svoju porodičnu grobnicu. Gradnja crkve je počela 1811. godine i zidana je na svod, sa jednim kubetom i zvonarom u jugoistočnoj kuli od tvrđave, u kojoj su bila tri zvona izlivena u beogradskoj topolivnici. To su prva zvona koja su se oglasila u slobodnoj Srbiji. Crkva je bila pokrivena ćeramidom, a kube klisom. Grobnica je postavljena u crkvi uz ikonostas. Završni radovi i patosiranje poda kamenom iz Studenice, enterijer i živopisi urađeni su do jula 1813. U jesen iste godine Srbija je okupirana a Turci su crkvu zapalili. Tada je izgoreo i ikonostas koji je izgradio Zograf Jeremija Mihajlović a freske u crkvi, delo ustaničkog vojvode Petra Nikolajevića Molera su nagrđene (svecima su boli oči, i odsecali noseve i uši). Kralj Petar I Karađorđević je na Oplencu podigao zadužbinu crkvu Svetog Đorđa u kojoj su grobovi umrlih članova dinastije karađorđević a gradnja je trajala od 1910. do 1930. godine a oko nje su izgrađeni u parkovskom prostoru Petrova kuća, kao stan za sveštenika, Kraljeva i Kraljičina vila i Zadužbinski dom, sadašnji hotel. Danas Topolu karakteriše i nadaleko poznata Oplenačka berba, manifestacija koja se održava svake jeseni kao dokaz tradicije proizvodnje vina na ovom području. Tako se Topola razvila u svojesvstan šumadijski turističko-kulturni centar sa dobrom saobraćajnom povezanošću i bogatim prirodnim motivima. -->

Economy
Topola is an agricultural area and farmers are producing fruit, vegetables and breeding cattle.

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Tourism
Topola has the preconditions necessary for development of a tourism industry. Historical and cultural monuments (Cultural Heritage of Serbia) exist: revolutionary and royal (Karageorge's town), ecclesiastical (St. George's church, Nikolje monasteries). It is a wine region (Oplenac), and a large hunting ground Kamenica.

Visitor attractions

 * Oplenac, church and mausoleum of the Karađorđević (22 members), built 1910-2
 * Nikolje Monastery, built in 1425 by Nikola Dorjenovic
 * Karageorge's town, restored quarters of the 1810s revolutionary town
 * Karageorge's church (church of Our Blessed Lady)
 * Peter's house, King Peter's estate
 * King's villa, Karađorđević estate
 * Queen's villa, Karađorđević estate
 * Winegrower's house, former royal wine cellar, now gallery
 * Oplenac Wine region
 * Aleksandrović wine cellar
 * Kamenica Hunting ground, hunting region
 * Oplenac Vintage (Oplenacka berba) annual folk festival second weekend of October